Hurricane
by Lyonene
Summary: When East meets West things change. From east comes the Lone Wanderer w/her merc husband, already considered to be a living legend. West is Courier considered a myth by some & others a deadly enemy. Together these women shape the Mojave in ways nobody would have thought possible. Ft. good!Taker vs evil!Taker. HBK, Kane, Jeff Hardy, Randy Orton, Melina & John Cena and more.
1. First Impressions

**Stop! **Got your attention? Okay, good. First of all, this is the third in what has officially becomes a series. If you attempt to read this without first reading **Time For Miracles** and **This Is War**, you're probably going to wind up really confused. Just sayin'.

**Fallout/Wrestling Xover.** If you have no clue what Fallout is, that's sort of okay because I generally *try* to give out descriptions or provide enough info to cover the lack of knowledge. If I don't, just speak up.

**Cast:** The Undertaker and… the Undertaker (two of them, twice the yum!), Shawn Michaels, Randy Orton, Kane, Chris Jericho, Jeff Hardy, Batista, Melina, John Cena, Ted DiBiase Jr, and others I have either forgotten or yet to insert.

**Summary:** When East meets West, everything changes. From the east comes the Lone Wanderer, a young woman who is already considered to be a living legend and egghead extraordinaire. In the west is the Courier, who is by some, considered a myth and others a deadly enemy. The Courier and the Lone Wanderer are two very different people but also very much alike. Surprising histories that are intertwined by mere chance come to light that only make the meeting of the two that much more explosive.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own a thing, with maybe the exception of Faith and River.

* * *

><p><strong>1: First Impressions<strong>

**Freeside, January 2282**

"What the hell is that?"

"It's a man… in a skirt…"

"Wow… local fashion, I kind of like it."

"You will never see me in a skirt, kid. So get it out of your head right now, got me?"

"But… honey…"

"I said no."

"I hate to interrupt your little fashion debate, but the idiot in the skirt is raising a spear at us."

Faith and Mark Calaway looked back towards the man in question, both arching eyebrows when he hurled the spear in their direction. They each stepped aside, their heads turning to watch as it flew by them.

Rolling his eyes behind his mask, Kane raised his shotgun and blew the idiot in the skirt away. "Smoothskins…" He muttered, sometimes wondering why he was still with them. Well, not Mark, but Faith. Mark had bought out his contract and given it to her just over four years ago. Faith had torn it up and made him a free Ghoul right before their battle at the Jefferson Memorial. Ever since then, he had stuck to her side.

Which was probably a good thing. Faith had been accident prone back in the day before she had become known as the 'Lone Wanderer' and the 'Savior of the Wasteland', not to mention she had the worst fucking luck out of anyone he had ever known and in his hundred plus years walking the earth, he had known a lot of people with bad luck.

When she and Mark had decided to take a honeymoon up river, she had run into some kind of whacked out cult and returned home with a bald head and a piece of her brain missing. Surprisingly enough, she was just the same as ever. Now that he knew she was alright, Mark liked to joke that he always knew she was just a brain dead Vault kid.

"Well…" Faith was now squatting over the still warm corpse, poking at his armor with the tip of her hunting dagger. "I'm betting this is one of those Legion guys that scavenger warned us about."

Mark watched in amusement as she raised the kilt up. "Faith, what the hell are you doing?"

"I wanted to know what he was wearing beneath it." She said, throwing him a 'duh' look. "Some kind of cloth thing…. Freaks."

Kane stood there watching, his arms folded over his massive chest. "Shall we continue?"

"Yeah…" Mark kicked her gently in the backside with the point of his boot. "Come on, I want to make New Vegas by nightfall."

Sighing, she pushed herself up; slipping the golden coins she had retrieved into the faded brown satchel on her back. "Souvenirs." She said when both men just stared at her. "For the kids."

Mark and Kane just nodded.

* * *

><p>"Holy hell…" Faith murmured, staring at the city they were approaching out of wide mud brown eyes, her head tilting back with each step forward they took. "It's a city… and it's intact…"<p>

"According to what Sarah's sources had to say, it is one of the few cities to mostly survive the Great War." Kane repeated from memory, idly picking at the back of his neck where what skin was left was peeling off. "Robert House is the man in charge of the place."

"So he's who we need to see."

Mark was eyeballing the two men standing by the gates, a sign overhead reading something he couldn't make out. Faith had offered to teach him to read more than a hundred times and each and every time, he always turned her down. He figured she was enough of an egghead for the both of them. That and if she had her way, all their kids were going to turn out to be eggheads as well. No thanks. "What's that say?"

"Freeside." Faith was already heading for the gates, throwing her long black hair back over her shoulder carelessly.

Automatically the two men blocked her path. "Have to pay the tax."

"What tax?"

"The Freeside tax."

"I don't have any caps."

One of them, a man wearing black jeans and a black denim coat with a slicked back, greasy pompadour was staring at her with a gleam in his eye that put both Mark and Kane on edge. "Well now, aren't you a pretty little thing?"

"Pacer…" The other guy said hesitantly, apparently knowing where this was going. "You know what the King'll say…"

"Why don't you just let me worry about that, hm?" Pacer shot back, beginning to circle Faith, completely unaware that she was finding this all rather amusing. He was also unaware that he now had an assault rifle following him as well. "I think we could work out the tax… another way…"

"Sounds good to me, what'd you have in mind?" Faith asked cheerfully, turning in a circle just to keep him in her line of sight. She fought back a shudder when he stopped directly in front of her, fisting her hand in the hem of her shirt to keep from punching him when he reached out to push a stray strand of hair behind her ear.

"Why don't you come around the side of the wall and-" Pacer froze, swallowing hard when he felt something pressing against the back of his head, suddenly remembering she hadn't come alone. His eyes darted sideways for help but his own companion had slipped back through the gates.

"Let me tell you what I'm going to do," Mark began in a deadly whisper, his hazel green eyes spitting venom. "I'm going to cut your fingers off, one by one first, for touching my wife."

"W-wife?" Pacer echoed, staring at Faith who simply continued to smile sweetly at him.

"Then, your tongue, for even daring to try to take advantage of her."

Faith stuck out her tongue.

"And then finally your eyes, she's going to be the last thing you ever fuckin' see."

Faith skipped away when Pacer actually wet his pants from fear. "Alright honey, he pissed himself he's so scared, you can stop now."

Mark slapped the man upside his greasy head. "Maybe next time you'll think twice about chargin' a tax, eh, son?"

Pacer just nodded.

* * *

><p>"Didn't they say the King?" Faith asked curiously as they walked down the road of Freeside, ignoring the curious looks they were receiving from the locals on the streets. She knew Kane drew attention; he was a Ghoul who stood over six feet and wore a mask. Mark was also over six foot and wearing leather pants and a black muscle shirt, having stowed his duster in the satchel he was carrying once they began hitting higher temperatures the farther west they came.<p>

While her husband had disbanded his armor once they were within Freeside, she had not; she had done it outside the city. She wore a blue-gray top with the sleeves torn off, made of treated leather and a matching skirt with torn fishnet stockings. To prevent total exposure of her legs, she also wore treated black leather boots that came up over her knees. She knew she was exposed but to be honest, Faith had never gotten past the heat of the outside world, the Vault had had air conditioning. And the further west they came, the worse the heat had gotten.

She had her suit of armor Sarah Lyons had given her and thankfully it dispersed heat rather well but she wasn't wearing it unless she had too and as far as she was concerned, inside the walls, she didn't have too.

What she hadn't given up were her guns. A .44 magnum on each hip in the custom holsters she had gotten Knight Gallows to make for her and her Chinese assault rifle in a sling on her back. Her knife was sheathed at her ankle and she carried a few grenades in her satchel. She didn't go anywhere without weapons or Stimpaks, the laws of the Universe pretty much stipulated she was getting shot at in every two out of three places.

"Yeah, why?" Mark was busy giving 'hands off' looks to the men who were eyeballing his wife. She was still too damn pale but he was more than used to it after four years of knowing the crazy broad. She had grown her hair out again –being bald hadn't suited her at all- so now it fell down to just past her shoulders, which as attractive as he found it, it wasn't practical, but try telling her that.

"Cause, that says The King's School of Impersonation and I want to meet this guy."

"What for?" Kane demanded, staring down at her. Even with the mask, both Mark and Faith were used to him enough to know that he was frowning.

"Because I want to see if he's as sleazy as his little running buddies or not."

"Not even in town for ten fucking minutes, kid, and already you're stirrin' shit up…" Mark groaned, wondering if her crazy weird luck was going to play a factor here. He knew she was enjoying the anonymity she had here in the Mojave. Back east she couldn't go anywhere without people bothering the shit out of her or just trying to get close to the 'Savior of the Waste, the Lone Wanderer', and he was still planning on eventually killing Three Dog for turning her into some sort of demi-God.

Technically, they had come out all this way for several things. First and foremost, to locate the Brotherhood of Steel and deliver a letter from the still kicking Elder Lyons back in D.C. Then they were going to root out any Enclave bastards and dispose of them. Faith had gotten really, really sick of them continually popping up around the Memorial and since they had cleaned out every Enclave base in the Capitol Wasteland and surrounding areas, they had figured the troopers were coming from the west.

Owyn had cemented that when he had had his Scribes sort through the Enclave holodisks she had retrieved and found a few bases remaining in the Nevada area.

Lastly, they had a letter to deliver on behalf of Doc Church back in Megaton. That was probably the simplest job and yet knowing Faith, it would turn out to be some sort of min-war that lasted months.

If he didn't love her so damn much, Mark would have killed her a hundred times over for all the shit she still dragged him into.

* * *

><p>If not for the fact that she was most of the time happily married, Faith would have found the King quite attractive. He had jet black hair, beautiful blue eyes and a slow, drawling way of speaking that could melt ice. He was also rather pleasant, which was a perk since she didn't want to have to hurt him. When she had informed him about his buddy –Pacer- he had been quite upset.<p>

"I'll take care of it, sugar." He reassured her, reaching across the table to gently pat the top of her hand before leaning back in his chair again. "We got us enough going on in Freeside without my boys fondlin' up every pretty lady that passes through."

Faith simply nodded, sitting across the table from him while Kane was standing silently against the far wall, watching the room out of guarded eyes. The man was no longer her bodyguard but that rarely stopped him from acting like one and she loved him for it. He had saved her ass so many times she had lost count twice over. Mark was in the entrance room, at the bar, unsurprising.

She was about to ask a question involving finding a place to bed down for the night when they heard someone shout from the front followed by the unmistakable sounds of a gun being fired.

Faith didn't beat Kane through the door but she tied in at a very close second, her eyes widening when she took in the scene.

A woman with a face just only slightly more scarred than hers was standing in the middle of the room, a shotgun in her hands and aimed over the counter of the bar. Flanking her was a large man in a dirty white tee shirt, army fatigues and a beret, a sniper rifle in his hands. Both people looked royally pissed off. There was also a burning hatred in the woman's deep blue eyes; something Faith could easily recall feeling towards Colonel Austin, before she planted one in his forehead.

"I know you're not dead, 'Taker." The woman snarled, shouldering the shotgun. "So come on out and let's finish the dance."

"Courier…" The man behind her said flatly, his eyes locked on Faith.

Without even realizing it, Faith had drawn her magnums and was aiming both of them for this woman –Courier-, more specifically, at her head. When Courier had said 'Taker, Faith's heart had down a jerky rotation, that was the name Mark had gone by back in the Wasteland and somehow, this woman knew who he was. Which technically should have been impossible since Mark swore up and down he had never been this far west before.

The woman, Courier, swung around to aim the barrel of her shotgun at Faith's head. Faith instantly noted the scar on the woman's forehead, like a faded spiderweb and then another that ran through her eye. Faith herself had one scar running horizontally across her cheekbone from nose to ear, courtesy of the Enclave and their lasers. "Kane?"

The Ghoul was already kneeling behind the bar, checking on Mark. "He needs medical attention."

"I don't know or care who you are, but if my husband dies… you're a dead woman." She said coldly.

"Your… husband?" Courier began laughing, though her aim never faltered. "That is… hilarious."

Faith pulled the trigger.


	2. This 'Taker, That 'Taker

**2: This 'Taker, That 'Taker**

"I have to speak with the King today."

John simply nodded, busy eating his breakfast of grilled Mirelurk meat and Brahmin milk.

"You're going with me."

That got his attention. Looking up from his plate, he eyeballed Courier who was braiding her hair back. "Why?"

"Because if he decides to play hardball, I want extra muscle at my back." She had heard that the man who called himself the King wasn't really bad but he tended to look out for Freeside, which meant he wasn't above demanding favors before even considering a proposition. If he was smart, he would just listen because she wasn't in the mood to do anyone a favor today.

She had woken up to find her bed empty and a note from Shawn on the pillow saying he had gone out with Jeff, those two were spending more and more time together ever since she had announced her plans. She trusted Shawn, Jeff… not so much, mostly because she didn't really know him.

Nodding, John pushed himself away from the table. "Let me get my gun."

* * *

><p>When Courier had walked into the King's School of Impersonation and seen 'Taker, she hadn't even thought twice about shooting him. All that really registered was the fact that the murdering, raping son of a bitch was in <em>her<em> city and sitting at that bar, sipping a whiskey as if he had every right to be there.

She had heard John mutter a muffled 'son of a bitch' and then fired. She had clipped him in the back, towards the right which was a shame as it meant she had missed his heart. He had let out a curse and dived over the bar.

All of the King's gang had backed the hell up, which was smart.

"I know you're not dead, 'Taker." She snarled, aiming just over the bar in case he was dumb enough to pop his head over it. She still owed him for the Sierra Madre, the son of a bitch had raped her, she was going to blow his nuts off first, then his head. "So come on out and let's finish the dance."

"Courier…" John said from behind.

Whipping around, Courier turned the aim of her shotgun from the bar to the woman –no, kid's- head, frowning. This wasn't a kid, but she sure looked like one. She was definitely younger than Courier, that was for damn sure, and oddly pale. Her hair was black and fell tousled over her shoulders and she was wearing… who the hell knew, but it sure wasn't a current fashion here in New Vegas. A pale pink scar marred an otherwise decent face but her attention was soon distracted by eyes the color of mud. Those brown eyes were seriously pissed off.

"Kane?" The other woman growled in a low yet clear voice.

Courier's eyes flickered to the Ghoul, taking in the sheer size of him. He wore a mask over his face but the exposed tendons and muscles of his bare arms were enough to tell her what he was. They didn't get many Ghouls this way and the ones they did had all worked for the casinos. He crouched down behind the bar, obviously checking on 'Taker and that made her grit her teeth.

Who in their right mind, would give two fucks if he was alive? Dead was definitely a much more preferable state for him.

"He needs medical attention."

That meant he was alive but possibly only barely, that made Courier feel cozy inside. If he died, that was one threat eliminated from her checklist.

"I don't know or care who you are, but if my husband dies… you're a dead woman."

Courier's attention was immediately drawn back to the kid, unsure what she was feeling but it wasn't anything good. "Your… husband?" She began laughing, a dry, humorless laugh. "That is hilarious."

A second later gunshot echoed throughout the building and the only reason Courier was alive was because John had tackled her from behind, shoving her down onto the floor. He stretched himself out over her in a protective manner, hands clapped over her head, obviously expecting more gunfire.

But it didn't come. They both risked peeking up at the woman.

She wasn't looking at them but towards the bar where the ghoul –Kane- was now helping 'Taker to stand.

"Is…. Is that 'Taker?" John whispered, doubt coloring his tone, watching as the woman peeled off the man's shirt, revealing a broad expanse of tanned skin.

"Get off of me." She snapped, bucking him away and climbed to her feet once he had moved, aware Kane now held a sawed off shotgun towards her while the woman was nudging 'Taker onto a bench. Surrounding them all were the Kings, staring with wide eyes while the King was just watching everything with a calm expression, as if his place got shot up every day when in fact, he had a no violence policy.

She stared at him, her frown deepening when she met grey-green eyes that were so familiar but… not familiar. There wasn't a single spark of recognition in them and she idly wondered if someone had shot him and caused him to lose his memories. The irony would have made for a seriously twisted but funny joke.

He was tall, check. Muscular, check. And that was where the similarities from this 'Taker and her 'Taker seemed to trail off. Physically, they both looked damn near identical. Except… her 'Taker had long black hair and this 'Taker… his hair fell to just at his shoulders and it was a deep auburn color, with streaks of gold. He wore a mustache and goatee just like her 'Taker. It was his arms that threw her off completely. They were muscular but they were… bare… there were no tattoos.

"Who the fuck are you?" She demanded.

He snorted, flinching slightly when his wife, who was now behind him kneeling on top of the bar, eased a pair of freshly sterilized tweezers into his back. "I was under the impression you knew…" He said, his voice low with the hit of an accent, not the dark baritone of her 'Taker. "Since you tried to fuckin' kill me."

"Stimpak." She held out her hand to the ghoul, who reached down onto the counter which had rather quickly been turned into a type of operating table. "Hold still, old man."

He gripped the sides of the bar stool with both large hands, his eyes closing just as she injected the Stimpak right into his throat.

Even John winced at that, knowing that had to hurt.

"Faith?" Kane murmured, one eye on Courier, the other on the man's back. "Faith…"

"I can't get it out… shit, shit, shit!"

"Well if it makes you feel better, darlin', I can't feel a fuckin' thing."

"Not NOW, Mark!"

"Sugar, why don't you use one of the empty rooms? We got a bed and that'd be easier than out here." The King finally suggested, his eyes darting away from the blood that was now spilling down the stranger's back and onto his floor.

"I need a proper medical kit…" Faith looked towards Courier and Courier frowned, not liking the expression on the other woman's face. "You, make yourself useful and get me one."

"I'll go get Shawn." John offered, already disappearing out the door. It was a mindfuck to be sure but that wasn't the Undertaker, at least, not the one they all knew and despised. That was someone else entirely who looked way to much like the other to be comfortable.

"Kane, I can't…"

Nodding, Kane stepped in to wrap his rotting arms around Mark's waist, beginning to drag him back towards where the King was gesturing.

Courier then realized that this Mark guy… he was unconscious. "Look, I'm sorry." She said, following behind, Faith and Kane, she rolled their names around in her head. And the big guy who was now forever wrapped up in her mind with 'Taker was Mark. "He… he looks identical to… someone I know."

Faith just shot her a dark look.

* * *

><p>"What the hell is going on?" Shawn demanded as he was ushered into the school turned gang headquarters. "River, what the-" He stopped when he seen the people gathered about a bed in one of the King's rooms.<p>

Courier was standing against a wall, her arms folded over her chest, an expression of confusion and guilt on her face. The King was standing next to her, looking cool as a cucumber –though Shawn had never even seen a cucumber, he did know the expression. There was also a large ghoul present, hovering next to the bed with a gun in his hand, eyeballing everyone as if they were potential enemies.

On the bed was… at first, Shawn thought it was the Undertaker and he was about to rip John a new asshole for bringing him here. If that bastard was dying, there was no way Shawn was going to try to save him or ease his passage. He could die and die in agony. A second look told him that while damn near identical to the Undertaker, this wasn't 'Taker. It was someone… else… A very, very good look-a-like who was lying on his side, his face towards Shawn and his eyes closed, he wasn't conscious.

Perched on the side of the bed, just behind the behemoth was a woman with black hair and an expression of concentration on her oddly pale face. She was doing something to the man's back and when she raised an arm to wipe sweat off her forehead, he could see blood. He blinked when she looked at him, seeing the anguish in her eyes and then the faded gold, battered wedding ring on her finger.

"This the doctor?" She asked without tearing her eyes from him.

"Yes." Courier whispered.

"Good, get over here and bring that bag." She ordered.

A bit confused, Shawn did as he was told.

* * *

><p>Courier watched as the two worked on the man's –Mark- back. She had expected Faith to let Shawn take over and was mildly surprised when the woman instead commandeered his bag, using him as an assistant. It was quickly made obvious that she knew what she was doing.<p>

Shawn just helped her, remaining quiet as they worked, and only let out a soft sigh when Faith declared that her husband would live to be shot at another day. He then followed her down the hall to the bathroom to wash their bloodstained hands while the ghoul cleaned the mess and arranged Mark on the bed to sleep off the after effects of his sudden surgery.

Needing a drink, she turned and headed out for the bar, grateful that the King had basically told everyone to hit Freeside for a while. She was aware John was watching her as she stepped behind the counter, setting out two shot glasses and a bottle of whiskey, pouring them each a healthy measure.

"You didn't know it wasn't him." John said, accepting the glass she held out to him and watched as she slammed hers. "It looks like him."

"But it's not him."

"Who the hell is this 'him'"

They both looked up as Faith and Shawn came into the room, the ghoul nowhere to be seen. He was probably still with Mark, making sure no one else tried shooting him.

Courier poured herself another shot.


	3. Real Life Superhero

**3: Real Life Superhero **

For the next two hours, all Faith did was listen as the woman who identified herself as Courier explain why she thought Mark had been someone else. The soldier, John, and the doctor, Shawn, would interrupt every now and then to input something.

When Courier had finished, Faith sucked in a deep breath and then let it all out in a whistle, reaching up to push her hair out of her face. "I probably would have shot him too." She said after a moment. "Maybe. I don't like randomly shooting people. Unless they're Enclave."

"He was Enclave."

"Well hell, I'd shoot him twice then." Faith did not like the Enclave for very good reasons; they kept trying to kill her.

"You'd have to see 'Taker to understand, really understand… the two are damn near identical…" Courier said softly, shaking her head and downed what had to be her sixth shot. "I could overlook the hair; hair can be dyed but… Mark has no tattoos…"

"Stop." Shawn ordered, taking the whiskey from her, much to Faith's amusement. "Enough. It's done and he's going to live."

Faith studied the older woman thoughtfully. She looked exhausted and could probably do with some solid sleep, and a good meal. From the way the doctor was hovering over her, it was obvious the two were lovers and… "Hey, your name is Shawn, right?"

He glanced at her, nodding.

"Dr. Shawn Michaels?"

"Uh, yeah?" He stared at her curiously, wondering if they had met.

"I have a letter for you." Faith announced, turning to rifle around in her satchel, finally plucking out the dirty envelope. "From Doc Church in Megaton."

Shawn's weathered face lit up at that and he eagerly took it from her. "That old bastard is still alive and kicking?"

"He's too damn mean to die."

"That's Church all right." Shawn laughed, thumbing the envelope. "You know him well?"

She shrugged one shoulder. "He's patched me up a time or two. Mark and I, we live in Megaton, so…." She trailed off, watching as he opened it and began to read. "When he found out we were coming out this way, he asked me to deliver that, said you two try to exchange letters once a year depending on who's passing through."

Silence fell as everyone let Shawn read his letter, Faith cocking an eyebrow when he finally stopped long enough to shoot her a disbelieving look. She knew that look and she didn't like it. "I think I need a drink…" She muttered, turning to the bar and helping herself to what remained of the whiskey.

"You… _you're_ the Lone Wanderer?" He demanded.

"Now how in the fucking hell did you know _that_?" Faith growled in exasperation, shooting down the whiskey before whirling around to glare at him, staring at the paper in his hand. "I'm going to KILL that sonbitch when I get home." She snatched the letter when he mutely held it out.

"The little runt delivering this is someone I told you about a few years ago. The kid who 'saved' the Wastelands, got the fresh water going, your courier happens to be that kid." She read aloud, not amused in the least. Part of the appeal of coming out here was the fact that nobody knew who the hell she was. "Great…"

Courier was looking back and forth between them. "What did I miss?"

Shawn ignored her for the moment, too busy sizing up the girl who was neatly knocking back the whiskey with an annoyed expression on her face. If half of what Church had said –and he didn't know the man to lie or exaggerate- was true then this… woman… had done… he let out a slow breath.

"Hey, someone mind explaining what's going on?"

Faith groaned, banging her head on the bar. "Yes, I do mind." She muttered, rubbing the spot she had bashed with the heel of her hand before shooting Shawn a dark look. "I like being anonymous here, so shut the hell up, doc."

Shawn did shut up, but only because he was thinking.

* * *

><p>"Well, sweet cheeks, you must be the guest River mentioned."<p>

Faith arched an eyebrow at the overly large, overly muscled man behind the counter of the Tops casino. River –Courier, whoever the hell she was- had told them they would have a place to stay here, a safe place with actual beds. Faith had been sold.

"I'm David and this is my little slice of heaven here in New Vegas." He walked around the counter in order to take her hand in his. "River paid for the room for a week so feel free to come and go as you please."

"Alright, thanks." Faith tried to pull her hand away from his, frowning when he didn't let go. "Can I have my hand back now?"

"I'll have to check you over for weapons." He informed her, moving from her hand to her wrist, squeezing gently. "Policy."

"How about I just hand them to you?"

He smiled apologetically and repeated: "Policy."

The minute David began patting her down, Faith took him down.

One moment he was touching her arms and the next he was lying flat on his back staring at the cracked ceiling, wondering how in the hell he had wound up here on the floor. His brown eyes widened when he realized what had happened, grunting when Faith settled herself comfortably on his chest, a magnum planted right in the middle of his forehead.

"Boss?" One of the chairmen asked nervously, gesturing for back-up, his own gun drawn.

"If they even think about opening fire, I will kill you." Faith said, sounding almost cheerful.

"Don't shoot!" David bellowed, believing her.

"Now, I don't appreciate being mauled by strangers. In fact, it really, really pisses me off. I've been mauled enough for two lifetimes by assholes much more dangerous than you or any of your pissant boys here." She cocked the trigger, looking thoughtful. "To be perfectly honest with you, I'm not all that comfortable with giving up my weapons either."

He simply nodded.

"So if I let you up, are we going to have a problem or am I going to have to violate your no-violence policy?"

"No problems."

"Good." She was off him in a heartbeat, gun back in its holster at her waist, looking like she hadn't just threatened to massacre everyone within the building. Then she bent down to take his hand, helping him back up. "Now, my husband will be brought in later, he's… injured."

David could only stare down at her, wondering if this broad was for real.

"He'll be accompanied by a ghoul, a very large ghoul, so don't even think about trying to frisk him. He's not as nice as I am." She warned, reaching into the satchel she had taken from Mark and slung over her shoulder, pulling out a handful of caps. "Understand?"

He did, oh yes, caps made everything alright and David instantly pocketed them while handing her a room key. "Yes ma'am, I hope you have a pleasant stay here at the Tops."

She smiled sweetly, reaching up to pat his cheek gently. "I think we'll get along just fine, Davey boy."

* * *

><p>"You must be Faith."<p>

Faith smiled brightly at the man with blond hair and a surly frown on his otherwise handsome face. "You must be grumpy." She said, tapping her cigarette in the ashtray the bartender had placed in front of her. After a shower and making sure their suite was ready for Mark's arrival, she had come downstairs to the lounge to wait for her ghoul and her husband.

"Jeff Hardy." He corrected, not finding her as amusing as she apparently found herself. "Shawn said you were a… scientist, among _other_ things."

"Shawn is going to die a horrifically violent death." She said dryly, taking a long pull from her cigarette, a bad habit she had picked up from Mark in their pre-marital, wandering the Wastes days. "Hope you're not attached to him."

Jeff shrugged one shoulder, sitting down on the stool besides her without bothering to ask permission. For once he had retired his lab coat, wearing a pair of clean but stained khaki fatigues and a white tank top, or at least it had been white once. "As far as people go, he's alright."

"Not a people person?"

He shrugged again.

Faith rolled her eyes and gestured for another drink, throwing the tender a wink when he got right on it. Service here was great; it probably had something to do with David.

"You don't look like a demi-God." He observed, studying her openly and without a lick of embarrassment. "Three Dog has really built you up."

Now she swiveled back so she was facing him, cocking an eyebrow. "You know Three Dog?"

"I know _of_ him."

She waited impatiently, a sneer curving her lips when he just remained silent. "Well?"

"Well what?"

"Oh my God… I'm going to shoot you."

"I was in the Wasteland when all that happened, when you went against the Enclave with the Brotherhood of Steel." He said finally, not even bothered in the least by her threat of death, even though he knew damn well she was quite capable of murdering him. However, from his understanding, while she might talk and occasionally act like just another Wasteland asshole, she had a strict set of morals that actually prevented her from killing someone without a solid reason.

"The Followers were-"

"The who?" She interrupted.

"The Followers of the Apocalypse."

"Never heard of them."

"I'm not surprised. We're mostly established here in the west. I was part of a crew that was to determine if it would be beneficial to the D.C. area to have us there."

"And?"

"And it was not. While your settlements could benefit from not only our medical services but our educational programs, the Enclave proved too much of a risk to us."

She smirked at that. "Not anymore."

"I am aware you eradicated their main base."

She rubbed her thigh at that, fingers lingering over an old scar she had received during her escape of Raven Rock. "No, you misunderstand; the Enclave is gone from the Capital Wasteland, completely."

Now that was news to him and he let her see his shock. "Completely?"

Faith nodded, looking pleased with herself. "After getting the purifier working, the Brotherhood and I went through the entire Wasteland and took out their bases. What was left of them came back this way. It's part of the reason I'm here, to make sure the Enclave is gone for good."

Jeff swallowed at that.

* * *

><p>Mark sat patiently while his wife ranted and raved, trying not to smile but it was hard. She was so frustrated and… well, kind of hot right now. He had joined her at the Tops after he had had enough sleep and Stimpaks to heal him up properly. Kane was somewhere around the building, probably scoping exits, and she was pacing back and forth in front of their bed wearing nothing but her panties and old brown tank top.<p>

She was ranting about both Shawn and Jeff –who the fuck were they by the way?- knowing who she was and what she had done. She raved about Shawn telling everyone who would listen –not that that was actually true but… he wasn't about to interrupt her. Instead he leaned back onto the bed, propping himself up on his elbows and just watched.

Faith halted midstride to glare down at him. "What the fuck are you smiling about, merc?" She demanded, walking towards him but stopping just out of reach.

"You're never going to escape it, kid." He drawled, lying flat when she pounced him, catching hold of her waist. "Careful now woman, I just had surgery!"

"You're healed, nice try. Escape what?"

"Your god awful luck, Faith." He said quietly, seeing the expression on her face and reached up with one hand to gently caress the side of her face, his fingers trailing over the scar. "You have the worst luck in the universe darlin', and the best."

"That's an oxymoron, moron."

"Say it in non-egg-head."

"Contradiction."

"Not really. Just think about it. Every bad thing that's ever happened to you has always been followed by something damn near amazin'."

Faith was silent as she considered it, finally smiling slightly.

"Take me for example, damn near amazin' and I happened to you."

She punched him.


	4. Competition

**4: Competition**

"Suicide, it's suicide Courier." John said after listening to her outline her next mission, two days after her attempted murder of the lookalike, wondering if she was outright insane. "It's one thing for you to just waltz into Caesar's camp, you had his invitation and... personal guarantee of protection. It's _another_ thing entirely for you to think you're going to get anywhere _near_ the Boomers."

"I'm still going John, I need them."

"How the hell do you figure that?" He glared at her, walking over to stand beside the glass wall that comprised half the wall of the penthouse. The penthouse, which was still off limits to everyone but her and him. Shawn's rights had been revoked once she had returned and that was probably a good thing because Courier had turned it into her own personal war base. Complete with maps, layouts and a bunch of information and strategies that would have made the good doctor lose his mind. "You have all these Securitrons, what makes you think you need the Boomers?"

"Because the NCR has been sniffing at their asses."

"So?"

"So the NCR is not going to waste time with the Boomers unless they have a reason. Do you know why they're called the Boomers?"

John shrugged, really not seeing where she was going with this. When Courier joined him at the window, he glanced down at her, frowning slightly.

"The vault they originally came from housed heavy artillery and even nuclear weapons. Do you know why no one can get close to Nellis?"

John knew Nellis was an old pre-war airbase that the Boomers had claimed as their territory. "Because everyone who approaches gets blown up."

"Exactly."

"What's your point?"

"That goes back to the heavy artillery. Howitzers would be my guess."

He whistled appreciatively, having never really given it any thought before.

"The NCR tried recruiting them quite some time ago and when that didn't work, they cut off the Boomer's water supply." She continued calmly, staring down into New Vegas.

John flinched, not really needing to be reminded of the NCR's shady dealings in those they hadn't assimilated. "What happened?" He asked curiously, albeit reluctantly, knowing with her former NCR position, she probably had been there when it happened, or at least heard of it straightaway.

Courier smiled with grim amusement. "In retaliation, the Boomers shelled portions of the pipeline in East Vegas, cutting off the NCR's water supply. The NCR, as you know, has had experimental farms and greenhouses going for years, they... didn't do well without fresh water. The NCR backed off after that."

"So, you're basically saying these are some badass people we don't want against us."

"Exactly. We have to get there before the NCR does."

"Alright..." He sighed, knowing Melina was going to have his guts for this. The fiery woman didn't appreciate being left out of some of the more... delicate plans Courier was devising. While they all knew what was going on, Courier tended to withhold information unless she deemed it pertinent for someone to know. She had explained this to them all as her way of ensuring nobody had a shitload of eggs in their basket in the event they were caught by an enemy. "When do we leave?"

"Who is we? You're staying here."

"Why?"

"Because, while she might be a goddamn hero, I don't trust Faith. I need someone to keep an eye on her and... her husband."

"She told you why she was here." He reminded gently.

"Yeah, and do you believe her?"

"I have no reason not to. She seems to have a very horrible honest streak."

"She also seems to have a thing for siding with organized groups."

"She hates the Enclave, you two have that in common."

"She also works with the Brotherhood of Steel, who wouldn't hesitate to snatch all this away just so they could get their hands on the technology."

"You don't like the competition."

Courier whirled to glare up at him. "Excuse me?"

"You heard me, you don't like the competition."

"There _is no_ competition."

"She's younger than you. She's also already has her own list of accomplishments that rival yours. She even has a 'Taker."

Courier's eyes were narrowing at each word that came out of his mouth.

"She's intelligent, trained in combat and Shawn thinks highly of her."

Now her eyes were nothing but slits.

John just shrugged. "She's the younger version of you."

"She hasn't seen half of what I have, don't compare us."

"Calling it like I see it."

Before they could really get into it, Yes Man interrupted. "Commander, the woman you dislike is here."

Courier pinched the bridge of her nose. "Perfect timing."

"Dr. Michaels has already let her into the building."

* * *

><p>"I was under the impression Mr. House owned the Lucky 38." Faith was saying to Shawn when Courier found them downstairs in the casino. She stepped off the elevator and simply followed the voices, arching an eyebrow at the sight of the pair sitting at a small circular table.<p>

Shawn cleared his throat, smiling disarmingly at her. "He does."

"I was also under the impression he didn't let people in here."

Courier had to give the 'horribly honest' kid credit, she wasn't a fool. She noted the way Faith's tone had gone sweetly innocent and wondered if Shawn was going to fall for it. She almost faceplammed herself when he stuttered off some incoherent response.

"He's given us free reign over the lower levels." She said, announcing her presence and stepping towards the table, watching as the other woman sprawled comfortably back in her chair until it was tilted back on two legs. "What brings you to the Lucky 38?"

"I need to speak with Mr. House."

"Well, I'll relay that to him for you."

Faith's mud brown eyes considered Courier thoughtfully, a small smile gracing her lips. "I'm sure you will."


	5. Sold!

**5: Sold!**

Mark was going to kick her ass. Faith smirked at the thought as she ventured around the wall of New Vegas, on the outside of it. She had woken up early and needed to get the hell out of the city. She wasn't used to a settlement that damn big, it was... terrifying. There were so many people, so many things she wasn't used to seeing and it terrified her on some stupid, Vaultie level.

There was also the obvious suffering around her that she couldn't handle. In the Vault, no one had went without, outside in the real world... well, she had been introduced to everything negative about the world: poverty, mass murder, violence for no reason...

New Vegas had its elite section but it was the areas outside that gate that really gnawed at her. Children on the street peddling wares for adults who basically owned them, people huddled in alleys, the fucking violence for no reason...

She hated New Vegas.

* * *

><p>"Well, well, well... what do we have here?" Saint James murmured, watching through the scope of his rifle as a rather pale woman approached the gate that led to Westside, which was a part of New Vegas but at the same time, independent of New Vegas.<p>

"I ain't never seen her around here before." His partner, Dermot, muttered, watching from his own scope. "What do you think?"

"I think we need to scoop her pert ass up. She'd fetch a damn fine price."

"Tall, fit, pale and... I bet she's a Vaultie."

"Probably."

"Who you thinking of selling her too?"

"The Fiends, who else? They're the only ones around here with the right amount of caps, unless you want to go into New Vegas?"

Dermot shook his head, a flicker of concern flashing across his face. "Now you sure that's a good idea? You know what they'll do to her?"

"Not my problem, why do you care?"

"Cook Cook."

Saint James considered that, finally shrugging. Cook Cook was one of the 'leaders' of the Fiends, one of the Mojave's most notorious gangs. They were all fucking animals. Addicted to chems and wild as hell, murdering and fucking everything they came across: and he did mean _everything_.

Cook Cook was also pretty infamous himself for his treatment of his captives. He raped the majority of them violently and then used a flamethrower on them. The ones who managed to escape him were generally scarred mentally, physically or usually both afterwards.

"Still not my problem." He said finally.

* * *

><p>Faith was giving serious consideration to heading back to New Vegas on the grounds that she needed a nap, this heat was making her tired. The heat wasn't helped by the fact that she was wearing the armor Sarah Lyons had given her, not dumb enough to venture out alone without some protection. The armor was meant to disperse heat, but it wasn't doing much dispersing so much as adding weight that made things worse.<p>

"Fuck. The. Desert." She hissed, flipping her middle finger up towards the sun. Sighing, she reached for her canteen of water and turned towards the mountains, seeing some legitimate green. Not 'I grew out of a radiated tree' green but 'green green'.

It always amazed her that some areas still had flourished after all the radiation from the Great War. When she and Mark had gone on their little honeymoon trip downriver, they had found a swampland with actual trees and... well, swampy things. Of course they had also encountered a cult and some inbred swampbillies too...

Yeah, but back to the mountains and the trees... She was wondering if there would be snow up there.

She heard it a second before she felt it. Frowning, Faith looked down to find a dart embedded in her thigh, not amused at all. Growling, she pulled it out and stomped on it before ducking low to the ground, scanning the surrounding area.

The second dart came from behind her, and it hit her in the back of her neck, where her armor didn't protect her.

* * *

><p>"What the fuck are you two idiots doing?"<p>

"Back off 'Taker."

'Taker smirked, jumping off the rock he had been perched on in order to approach Dermot and Saint James. He had been contemplating a visit to The Thorn, which was an underground network that mostly dealt in 'ring fighting' for a round or two to vent some of his more violent urges as well as make some cash when he seen these two. He had watched as they bagged themselves a person and then set off in the direction of the ruins, where the Fiends tended to congregate.

Saint James pulled a sawed off shotgun from his waist, aiming it at 'Taker's head. "We don't want any problems, man. We're just-"

"Carting her off to sell her." 'Taker finished, snorting and flicked his black hair back from his face. "Let's see the goods."

"Wait- what?" Dermot blinked, wondering if he was serious.

Rolling his eyes, 'Taker reached out and grabbed a handful of the chocolate brown hair, pulling the woman down. She landed on the hard ground with a very graceless thud. "Vaultie."

"Probably." Saint James muttered resentfully, putting away the gun because he really didn't want to wind up with it crammed down his throat. "Can we have her back now?"

'Taker crouched down next to her, taking in the armor she wore and then the scar across her cheekbone. "How much?"

Dermot and Saint James exchanged disbelieving looks.

* * *

><p>"Christ..." Faith muttered, not bothering to open her eyes, a hand slowly making its way to her neck to feel the back of it, hissing at the tenderness of the puncture hole she felt. She then stiffened, remembering being hit with a dart in the leg and then... nothing. Well, she wasn't dead, obviously.<p>

She then listened, wondering where the hell she was and heard nothing, frowning. Deciding to risk it, she cracked her eyes open and saw stars. She also saw from her peripheral that she was lying not too far from a low burning fire.

"Bout time you woke up."

Relief washed through her at that familiar voice and she closed her eyes with a sigh. "How'd you manage to find me?" She asked, wincing at the dryness in her throat.

"Slavers."

She felt something being placed at her mouth and automatically parted her lips, drinking down the water that poured down her throat. Carefully, Faith pushed it away and began sitting up, alert for signs of dizziness. "Thank God you found me then..." She shuddered at the thought of being sold off as a slave, remembering her brief visit to Paradise Falls.

"Yeah, thank God." He echoed, sounding amused.


	6. Time To Reevaluate

**6: Time To Reevaluate **

"Where's my wife?"

Courier didn't have time for this and spared Mark a brief look over her shoulder before turning back to the table she was standing over. She was using the lobby on the bottom floor for packing her leather satchel that she would carry on her back, waiting on John to come down from whatever it was he was up doing with Melina. She wasn't going to even bother contemplating that.

"No idea." She said curtly, wondering what the hell he was even doing here. Considering she had shot the guy the other day, she figured he'd be keen to steer clear of her. "Have you tried looking for her?"

"That would explain why I'm here, _lookin' for her_." He replied, sounding both amused and annoyed at the same time. "Either I really piss you off or you're just naturally a bitch."

"You look like a guy who brings out the natural bitch in me." She said flatly, turning to face him and folded her arms over her chest, looking him over. "In fact, I'd say you two were twins." When his tan face paled a bit, she cocked an eyebrow. "You have a twin?"

Mark grunted.

"Does your _wife_ know?"

"She's not _going to know_." He growled, cracking his knuckles one by one.

The expression that flashed across his face definitely told Courier this man was related to 'Taker, and the twin thing was no surprise at all. Well, it was, but it wasn't. She had never really thought of the Undertaker of all people having family but obviously, he came from somewhere. "I never knew he had a brother." She said finally.

"I like to forget." He sounded just as flat and let out a heavy sigh. "What'd he do to you?"

"What makes you think he did anything?"

Mark smiled humorlessly. "I went east when I was eighteen; you could say he already had a reputation by then."

"How old are you two?"

"Old enough."

"So... you never signed up with the Enclave?"

Mark shifted from one foot to the other, actually looking a bit... hesitant. "No."

"But he did." She surmised the uneasy look on his face was due to the fact that his wife hated the Enclave apparently even more than she did. She filed that fact away for a later date.

"Apparently."

Knowing she wasn't likely to get anything else out of him, she turned back to her packing, though she did set a gun down within easy reach, making sure he seen her do it. "Are you like him?" She asked in a would-be casual tone of voice.

"Apparently I'm damn near identical."

"I meant are you dangerous?"

If she had been facing him, she would have seen the answer on his face.

* * *

><p>"You're leaving now?" Shawn demanded, staring down into Katy's face intently. When she simply nodded, he sighed and turned away from her. "I thought you didn't trust Faith?"<p>

"I don't, but I can't put this off either." She reached out to place a hand on his shoulder. "Besides, as far as I can tell, she's not around."

"What do you mean?"

"Her husband was in earlier looking for her. Apparently, she wandered off, from the way it sounds; it seems that something very common for her. Which is damn stupid when you think about it, she doesn't know jack shit about the Mojave."

Shawn frowned, contemplating that. "Think anything might've happened to her?"

"I don't know, why?"

Sometimes he wanted to just smack himself. Of all the women to care for, he had to pick one who was occasionally about as warm as a pillar of ice. "Katy, you were listening to me when I told you who she was, right?"

"Savior of the Wastes, got pure water running, saving the world one state at a time, yes."

"Damn it Katy, I have never seen you think so poorly or condescendingly about someone until you met her!" He growled, whirling about in order to grab her shoulders, giving her a firm shake. "What the hell is your problem?"

"I don't have a problem Shawn, I just don't see the need to kiss her ass!"

"You're jealous." He said, sounding disgusted and stepped away from her.

That was the second time someone had told her that and Courier wondered if she needed to reevaluate herself, shoving that thought aside. It could be mulled over on her upcoming walk.

Sighing, she adjusted her rifle, shifting it so it hung behind her against her back. "Shawn, look, I-... Take John and go hunt her down, or better yet: ask Jeff, she's probably somewhere in Freeside."

"If you could get past whatever the hell is up your ass, you might recognize the fact that she could be a valuable ally."

"She's a crusader Shawn, even I got that. This isn't about-"

"Isn't it? You've seen what life is like here and you're doing all you can to change it, that sounds like a crusade to me. You two are more alike than you want to admit."

Sadly, she was beginning to think he was right. And no, she wasn't going to admit it.

* * *

><p>John knew Courier still would have preferred him to remain behind to 'watch over' things but he much preferred to watch over her. With her having an open line of communication through Yes Man via her Pipboy, she could then access the Securitrons for firsthand information if she wished.<p>

He had said his goodbye to Melina and gone outside to wait, knowing she had been ready for quite some time before Shawn distracted her.

"Let's go."

Well speak of the devil... He fell into step besides Courier as she walked right by him. "Everything alright?"

"Everything is great. Any word on Faith?"

"Nope."

"You still planning on waltzing right up to the Boomers?"

"Actually John," She smiled slightly, shooting him a look out of the corner of her eye. "I plan on running and dodging. Howitzers, remember?"

Oh yes, he remembered.


	7. Mistaken Identity

**7: Mistaken Identity **

'Taker stared down at the woman he had bought, not bothering to concealing his amusement. She was talking to him as if she knew him, and as far as he knew, they had never crossed paths before. She was paler than the usual and had a smoothness in her face that indicated a young age, younger than him at any rate. In the light cast by the fire, he could make out dark hair that fell past her shoulders and a rather plain face.

Then she flashed a smile at him from her place now sitting upright across from him and the plain face transformed into something that wasn't technically beautiful, but he almost smiled back. Even white teeth and full, not cracked lips curved upwards as if she were genuinely happy to be there with him. She was a semi-beautiful idiot.

"Do you have any idea where you are?" He asked, wondering if she had been straying in the desert a bit too long, the sun could addle people's brains.

"Mmm… the Mojave?" She looked around, not seeing much past the glow the fire gave off and then pointed towards New Vegas, which was lit up like a beacon, as always. "That is where we should be. Kane is going to kill me…" She frowned then, her eyes narrowing. "Speaking of, how'd you find me? And how'd you ditch him?"

He had absolutely no idea who Kane was. "I bought you off slavers."

"You… what? Why?"

"Because I wanted you."

She was silent for a very brief moment. "Mark…you're not all that funny, quit while you're ahead. What happened and how did you find me?"

Mark. Now that wasn't a name he liked being called and it gave 'Taker a moment's pause as he reconsidered her. Suddenly, things were clicking, and he had to pinch himself to make sure this wasn't a surreal dream. After a discreet pinch to his wrist, and a harsh one at that, he knew he was quite awake. "A pair of slavers took you down outside of the gates of one of Vegas' sub-towns." He said calmly, quietly.

"Okay…?"

"And I watched them do it."

"You couldn't have stopped them?"

"I was a bit too far away to prevent it." It could just be a coincidence, and he decided to test the theory. He watched as her head tilted back as he pushed himself upright, slowly walking around the fire until he was settling back down, right next to her.

The woman promptly moved into his lap, straddling him and dangled her legs off his hips. A frown crossed her face and she reached up to tug on his long goatee. "When did you shave?"

'Taker's hands had moved to her waist, gripping tightly. This woman recognized him… but it wasn't him she was seeing. It was someone else, someone he hadn't thought about in a very, very long time. Someone he didn't care to think about about.

His twin.

"Mark? What the hell is wrong with you, old man?"

This meant his twin, his brother, was back in the Mojave. For some ungodly reason, Mark had returned West after swearing up and down he was done with everything the desert had to offer. With him, 'Taker. With their Enclave heritage. With the insanity.

And he had brought a wife back with him. A young wife, a woman who obviously was dumber than a box of rocks. 'Taker was already grinning evilly. This had the potential for some serious amusement.

* * *

><p>Faith did not like the beard… and as her head cleared more, it began to dawn on her that when she had left her husband in bed this morning, his auburn mustache and goatee had been closely trimmed… this beard was… a bit long. That was the first thing that really unsettled her. She had been able to look past the addled thing, attributing that to the heat, and Mark probably being out in the sun all day looking for her. This she couldn't let slide.<p>

She ran her hands down his muscular arms, jumping when the fire popped behind her and the light emitting from it flared for a brief moment. That moment was enough to show her his arms. The frown deepening, she extended one arm and began studying it, her breath catching in her throat.

This wasn't Mark.

And "Mark" began laughing. A slow, deep, menacing rumble of a laugh that sent chills coursing through her.

* * *

><p>"Ah, ah, ah…" 'Taker tsked when she tried getting away from him, having felt the change in her body when she had seen his arms. "Bit on the slow side, aren't you, little sister?"<p>

"Let go!"

"I don't think so, I _bought_ you. You belong to _me_ now." He wrapped his arms firmly around her, trapping her own arms down against her sides and squeezed threateningly when she wouldn't stop squirming. "I would stop that now before I decide to break your ribs."

She froze.

"Much better. Tell me, do you give my brother such a hard time? Or are you a well behaved kitten for him?"

She remained froze, shock and comprehension both lighting her eyes.

'Taker bent down so his nose was pressing against hers. "Never told you he had a twin, did he? Hmm, I bet I know why too…" He leaned forward, his cheek sliding along hers as his lips brushed her ear and hair. "Because I'm the _bad_ one."

* * *

><p>Given everything Faith knew about Mark, the fact that… his brother, twin, her apparent brother-in-law, was assumedly worse was just beyond scary. Mark had everything under his belt, though he was no longer "bad". He was like… chaotic neutral these days, and she still loved him. He had shown a bit of remorse for some of his crimes. This guy… he gave the impression that he didn't care and would probably commit a bunch more travesties before he was dragged off to Hell.<p>

"Let go…" She whispered again, turning her head when his face buried itself in her throat. "Stop it!"

"What's your name, little sister?" He demanded, his breath hot against her flesh.

"Faith."

He began laughing again.


	8. Seriously

**8: Seriously**

"She was caught by slavers and sold."

Mark never stopped to question how Kane found out shit the way he did, he just knew it had come in handy on more than one occasion. He felt his guts coiling but kept his expression outwardly calm, knowing panicking wasn't going to do a damn bit of good.

Why in the blue hell had Faith gone out wandering alone? What part of 'the universe hates you' hadn't she caught onto yet? He could just imagine the things that were happening to her, knowing damn well what kind of people slavers sold women like her too.

"Fuck…" He cursed, raking a hand through his hair, glancing up at the ghoul with a frown. "Any idea to who?"

Kane shifted from one foot to the other, shaking his head.

She could very well be on her way out of the Mojave by now, or dead… Mark swallowed down the fear. "Fine, we're going to Courier. She's going to- Fuck, she left…"

Kane actually felt bad for the retired mercenary. Love seriously messed people up.

* * *

><p>Getting to Nellis wasn't a big deal, it was only about seven miles from New Vegas. It was the damn bugs they kept encountering that was the problem. Bugs aside, Courier and John reached the border that marked the Boomer territory, and simply stood there.<p>

What they were staring at was what had once been an army community, destroyed remains of what had once been houses lining the fence that surrounded the air field and Boomer community. And random body parts in various stages of decomposition from those dumb enough to try crossing.

"Well, what now?" John asked, finally turning to look down at her.

"Now we wait and think." Courier said, studying the land before her thoughtfully.

"You're not going in there, are you?"

They turned, guns drawn, and didn't relax at the sight of the old scavenger walking towards them. He did stop walking when he realized he was being aimed at, holding up his hands in a gesture of peace.

"I wouldn't…" He said slowly, eyeballing the guns. "People get blown up…"

"Obviously." Courier lowered her weapon but didn't sheathe it. No matter how harmless someone looked, it didn't mean shit. She had seen kids packing heat and mow down adults who had thought they were harmless. No, she liked living. "You know anything about this place, old timer?"

He shrugged, scratching the back of his worn, rough hand nervously. "Maybe."

John sighed, mentally rolling his eyes. "Enough for us to consider paying you for the information?" He asked, reaching back to touch the barrel of his sniper. "Or so little we just shoot you for it?"

"Hey now, don't be shootin'! I'll tell you what I know."

* * *

><p>Shawn was never going to get used to the man who looked like the Undertaker but wasn't. He and Jeff had been scouring New Vegas and Freeside for Faith and come up with nothing. They had just been exiting the Silver Rush when Mark had been walking in.<p>

Shawn had damn near pulled a gun on the man. It had taken him a brief second to remind himself that this wasn't the son of a bitch who was out to make River's life miserable via any means possible, including rape and attempted murder.

It was obvious the two were twins. People sometimes looked alike, sure, but everything from the build, height, and facial features were identical. He was just wondering how long it would be before Mark finally came clean about the deal.

"She was taken by slavers and sold." Mark said, stepping back into the street.

Shawn blinked, hearing Jeff whistling softly from behind him. "Any idea who sold her and who bought her?"

The ghoul, Kane, cleared his throat. "St. James and Dermot were the slavers."

Jeff shook his head. "Then she was sold to the Fiends. She's dead already."

Before he knew what was happening, Mark had Jeff by the throat and had slammed the smaller man right back into the concrete wall of the building. "Whoa! Put him down!"

Kane placed a hand on Shawn's shoulder to stop him from going anywhere near Mark. He did it instead, grabbing his former employer by the forearm to pull him away. "Drop him, we don't have time for this."

Jeff rubbed his sore windpipe once he was let go, eyeing Mark out of narrowed eyes. "I'm sorry if you don't like the truth but I deal in facts. The Fiends are notorious for what they do to their captives."

"Where do they nest at?" Mark demanded, not offering an apology or anything else. In fact, he was considering choking the life out of the Follower again for his matter-of-fact way of speaking. That was his _wife_ and he'd be damned if, after all she had been through and done, she was finished in by some fucked up desert gang.

Jeff glanced at Shawn. "Is he serious?"

Shawn just nodded.

* * *

><p>"You little bitch…" 'Taker growled, staring down at his bleeding wrist. He slowly raised his gaze to Faith, taking in the blood around her full mouth and her bared, bloodied teeth. She hadn't taken kindly to his collaring of her, though he hadn't expected her to just rip into him like some wild cannibal. "You like to play rough, hmm?"<p>

A moment later, a sharp crack echoed around them and she was sprawling in the sand, her own blood pooling from the corner of her mouth.

"So do I, little sister, so do I."

Faith's muddy brown eyes were unreadable as she began backing away from him, crawling in the dirt like some sort of broken Mirelurk. She spat blood out of her mouth, watching as he wrapped a bandana around his torn wrist. He had collared her, like the slave he said she was.

She had seen slave collars before, and this was something along the lines of what was used back in the east. Something along the lines but not quite. For one, it was a bit more high tech and finely made, not as crude as ones she had seen. He held the trigger for it, all he had to do was press a button and her head was going to explode or something.

So her biting into the way she had, had probably been suicidal on her part, but she would much rather he just kill her outright than actually try to force her into… whatever he had planned. Her mind was struggling to comprehend that he was… her husband's brother, twin brother, and he was… fucking evil.

This was seriously messed up.


	9. Perspective

**9: Perspective**

"How are you going to get in to find her?" Shawn demanded, staring at Mark incredulously. "You're not going to just waltz up into that damn Vault, they don't deal with nobody but the Khans."

Kane was not surprised when Mark simply adjusted the scope on his sniper rifle, already knowing how they were going to get in there. They were going to kill anyone who got in their way. The good doctor was going to be one of those people if he didn't shut the fuck up already.

They were perched behind some barricades that guarded the entrance to Camp McArran. The NCR soldiers patrolling behind them had ignored them after Jeff explained, sort of, what they were there for. As far as the NCR was concerned, anyone who wanted to deal with the Fiends in a not friendly manner was more than welcome to camp out.

"If you go in there guns blazing, you'll probably get her killed." Jeff cautioned, polishing his own laser pistol with the material from his tank top. He had absolutely no intentions of going in there, he didn't care who this woman was or what she had done, this was pure suicide.

"I'm not going in guns blazing…" Mark said quietly, lining up a shot.

Kane smirked, busy taking aim with his own sniper. They were going in silently, but nobody was going to be left alive when all was said and done. Apparently these two fools really had no idea who they were dealing with.

* * *

><p>Courier stared at the elderly woman, Mother Pearl, out of narrowed, tired eyes. Ever since making it into Nellis, which had been no easy feat, she had been running her ass around trying to convince these Boomers that she wasn't an enemy.<p>

Getting into Nellis had been a trip and a half and the fact that John hadn't finally said 'you know what, fuck you and fuck your crazy, trying to get us killed escapades' was still shocking her. They had run, hid, cowered, run again, all the way to the main base. And for the most part, the Boomers had done their very best to kill them both with those damn howitzers. She still had the loud explosion sounds ringing in her head; she swore she would forever be partially deaf.

After all that, they had then been regulated to errand boys in an effort to prove they were to be trusted and weren't out to 'destroy' the Boomers.

"Please, say that again." She requested, fairly certain she had heard right but also holding onto the hope that she was really deaf and misunderstood.

"I said we will aid you in return for one last favor. The favor being, you retrieve the B-29 from Lake Mead for us."

"A B-29 is an airplane!" John interrupted. He had had enough of this bullshit. He was tired, he had been bitten in the thigh by a mole rat, been shot at by heavy artillery, and then run around like a bitch for these people. Now they wanted them to… pull an airplane out of a lake? Were they insane? "How the fuck do you think we're going to get it out of the lake? I guarantee you it's at the very bottom."

Mother Pearl stared at him, her face calm and serene, though her eyes had narrowed just a hint. "We can raise it, all we need is for you two to attach the detonators to the ballasts. We can take care of the rest from remote control."

"Why don't any of YOU go to Lake Mead, swim down to the bottom, and play tag with an airplane while avoiding getting shredded by the Mirelurks?"

"Because you need us." She said simply.

Courier let out a slow breath, nodding. "She's right John, we need them. We'll do it."

* * *

><p>"I know who you are… Lone Wanderer…"<p>

Faith groggily opened her eyes, glad it was dark as she was pretty sure she wouldn't have been able to handle the full assault of sunlight. Not with the way her head was spinning. After biting him, he had proceeded to slap her silly. She was certain her face was bruised from jawline to hairline on both sides, he had made sure to get both cheeks and not just one. Such a considerate tormentor.

She almost immediately noticed that her left arm was… bare. Faith shot upright, ignoring the dizziness that threatened to overtake her and looked down at her wrist. Her Pipboy was gone…

"You restored the Wasteland, bringing pure water to the mindless sheep who pasture there, you wiped out the Enclave… is that why you're here? To finish the job?" 'Taker asked, his tone pure ice as he regarded her.

She didn't answer him, her eyes fastened on the pieces of her Pipboy, which were scattered about the ground. That had been her link to everything… and he had taken it from her, she felt naked.

His venomous gaze dropped down to the pieces, a cruel smile curving his lips. He had seen what River's little contraption could do, he wasn't about to have a repeat experience with his darling sister-in-law. "I heard about you, all of us did. The little bitch who has a personal vendetta against the Enclave, so many brothers and sisters came back here, back West, when you started wiping them out…"

Faith was staring at him now, her eyes hardening as the implication of his words struck home. He… was… Enclave… and now she was really seeing red.

'Taker caught her when she suddenly launched herself at him, cursing when he felt her hands clamping around his neck. The silly bitch was actually trying to choke him out! "Enough!" He roared, returning the favor and cutting off her oxygen. The difference was, he only used one hand and he was stronger.

When she was gasping for air, he dropped her back into the sand. "Yeah, I know who you are and what you've done. Bet you didn't do it alone though, I bet you had help. Didn't you little girl?" He hunkered down in front of her, watching indifferently as she gasped for air. "Did your darling _husband_ help you?"

When she finally met his gaze, her eyes were murderous.


	10. Assault on the Enclave –Faith's Story

**A/N:** This entire chapter is set in the past so I didn't bother with italics.

**10: Assault on the Enclave –Faith's Story: Part One**

**The Capital Wasteland, 2278**

Faith could only stare at Elder Lyons, wondering if he had lost his damn mind. She didn't have to voice her thoughts because her husband was doing it for her.

"You cannot be serious. You are, aren't you?" Mark was not a very happy retired mercenary and it showed. His muscles flexed dangerously as he regarded the leader of the Brotherhood of Steel, eyes narrowed. "Lyons, she just fucking came out of a goddamn coma! She's already helped you sons of bitches, she's paid you back for the help!"

Mark was referring to her very recent, as in right out of the coma, venture to an Enclave base where she helped the Brotherhood infiltrate and subdue. Somewhat. Liberty Prime had been taken out by the Enclave via some sort of satellite command, it had been… scary, actually. But she had retrieved intelligence for the Brotherhood, intelligence that Scribe Rothchild had deciphered and Lyons had just repeated to her.

She wasn't going to lie, she wasn't overly thrilled with the prospect of venturing into a fucking Enclave controlled air base. Nor was she thrilled with the fact that she was supposed to venture aboard some type of command mobile unit and fucking blow the thing up.

Eventually, she was going to have to die, she just preferred it to not be at those bastard's hands.

Lyons was ignoring Mark, his attention firmly fastened on the young woman before him. She was so young, not even twenty years old yet, but she had done more since leaving the Vault, not even a full year out, than the majority of his Brotherhood combined. She had accomplished so much already, he knew deep down she could do this as well. He would have sent his own daughter, Sarah, in if he thought she could do it; and if she hadn't still been in a coma.

She could do it, she would do it, he already knew that. He also knew the odds of even her, with her strange luck, surviving was… well, less than her odds of surviving Project Purity had been. But Project Purity, the incident at the Memorial, had taught him one thing about Faith: even facing certain death, even while dying, she didn't give up. She would get the job done.

"Faith… you know the risks involved and I won't lie to you, this is a suicide mission. I am asking you to go alone into the largest assembly of Enclave any of us have ever encountered." He said gravely, aware that the Lyons Pride were the only reason Mark hadn't attacked him yet, they were all training their weapons at the behemoth. "All their remaining forces are gathered on this base, and they'll have a massive artillery at their disposal, but you also know the consequences if nothing is done."

"Why her?" Mark interrupted, glancing at his wife and felt his heart clenching violently at the expression on her face.

"Because she is the best."

"No, she's not. She just has fucking great luck! This woman would be dead a thousand times over if not for me or Kane!"

Even Faith would acknowledge this was true.

"She is the one who brought down Raven Rock without yours or Kane's assistance, she is also the one who managed to activate the Purifier." Lyons reminded in neutral tones.

Faith stepped in front of Mark when she seen the tic just beneath his eye, placing both hands on his chest to stop him from lunging. She could feel his muscles tensed beneath her palms and sighed quietly. "If I don't go Mark, the Enclave could use that orbital strike against the Citadel, or the Purifier… or… anywhere. They could take out Rivet City, or Megaton, I can't let that happen."

"Goddamn it Faith, no, no! You are not responsible for these people, fucking let them die."

She recoiled at that, shaking her head. "You already know I can't, I _won't_."

* * *

><p>"Don't do this."<p>

Faith tensed, her head dropping forward at the pleading note in Mark's tone. He had stormed out of the meeting room after she had told him she wasn't going to let anyone die, not if she could stop it. She hadn't seen hide or hair from him in two days. She had spent those two days reviewing all the information the Brotherhood could provide, and stocking up on supplies, training with Paladin Tristan, and basically wondering if she was going to be able to do this without dying of a heart attack.

"Faith, please… God, I almost lost you once, don't…" He whispered, approaching her when she didn't turn around. He slid his hands on her shoulders, squeezing gently. "Don't go."

"I have too, you already know I do. I'm not going to risk everything we've accomplished, my mother and father's work, when it comes to the Enclave." She whispered back to him, feeling a wave of guilt rolling through her. He was begging her not to go; and she knew he had gone through hell and back several times since Jefferson. Here she was, asking him to make the trip yet again.

"Faith…"

"I have too."

* * *

><p>"This is stupid."<p>

Faith ignored the Ghoul's less than polite remark, hearing the 'you're being retarded, again' tone in his words. She was reviewing the reports Paladin Tristan had given her concerning her 'mission'. She was going to have to take the utility tunnel from the White House to Adams Air Force Base, where the Enclave seemed to be operating from since the destruction of Raven Rock.

"You can't go alone."

"No offense Kane, but you're a Ghoul, I'm pretty sure they'd notice you, your freakish height aside." She said dryly, finally turning away from the table to look at him. "Where is he?"

He being Mark.

"No idea. He took off." Kane shrugged his massive shoulders carelessly. Even though Faith had shredded his contract and 'freed' him, he had still stayed on as her protector. She needed him, everyone else besides him and her husband seemed to think she was seven foot tall and bulletproof, he knew better. He would never forget seeing her come flying out of the hangar at Raven Rock only to land with a very final, deadly thud on the ground below.

By all rights, this woman should have been dead.

He had a feeling this time around, she would be.


	11. One More Go -Faith's Story

**11: One More Go –Faith's Story: Part Two**

The base was like nothing Faith had ever seen before. The Brotherhood would have done just about anything to get their hands on all this working technology. She would have done just about anything to get the hell away from it.

She was tired and on edge. Kane had accompanied her as far as the White House, or the White House Plaza, and then he had remained behind to deal with the Super Mutants that had been setting up shop in the abandoned capitol. She really hoped he was alright…

Down in the utility tunnels had been great, absolutely fun. She had had to fight her way through ghouls and robots. The robotic issues had ended once she had found the mainframe to the security system and hacked it, changing the targeting perimeters to exclude her. Then she had had to deal with more ferals _and_ repair the fucking Adams tram.

Yeah, barrels of fun.

The train ride to the base had been… worrisome. She had never ridden a train and it went rather fast, she was worried about maybe crashing full-speed into a wall of debris or something. No sleep there.

Once the ride was over, she had promptly been greeted by the Enclave and gunned down them all, cheerfully. She really did not like these bastards. That was when she had taken a break in order to recover some energy and assess her situation.

Her situation was: screwed. Her energy levels were nowhere near peaked and that had been made worse once she stripped a dead soldier of his armor. She had never bothered training to use power armor, even after Sarah had offered it to her, so… yeah, this heavy Enclave power armor just made it all worse.

After that, it had been up to the surface to retrieve Tristan's orders. Which made her stomach bottom out.

_This is Paladin Tristan. If you're listening to this, then you've made it through the Presidential Metro and Adams Air Force Base is all that stands in your way. Our scouts report that the fire controls for the orbital missile satellite are located in the main tower of the Enclave Mobile Platform. The only way into the platform is by way of a ramp that lowers from a watch post the Enclave set up in the old air traffic control tower. When you opened the crate it triggered a beacon. We'll pick up on that signal and start the assault to cover your entry. Good luck, and Godspeed._

What Tristan had failed to mention was the sheer size of this place, and the fact that it was crawling with soldiers. And Deathclaws. The Enclave had found a way to control the beasts via collars and signals.

So far, Faith's odd luck had held out and she had managed to make it relatively near the air traffic control tower, which was where she needed to go. The only way to lower the ramp onto that giant mobile contraption was through the tower.

She was _fucked._

* * *

><p>"Audio Entry… fuck this, Lyons, if you ever hear this, it means I'm dead and I really hope you rot in hell. Your little report didn't even BEGIN to cover this place!" Faith hissed into her Pipboy, wincing as pain shot through her left arm as she tried to keep it up near her mouth. "I have just been attacked… by a Deathclaw, and I'm pretty sure I'm bleeding to death, god damn it…"<p>

She had been mauled, and the only reason she was alive right now was because of a very lucky shot. Her arm was next to useless, and she was keeping it propped on her knees, the heavy armor not doing it any favors besides support.

"They have these soldiers, called Hellfire's, and they use these modified flamers… if I were a Brotherhood idiot, I might actually consider retrieving one just so you could have your hands on it. You fucking techie junkie assholes!"

Faith took a deep breath, letting out another curse of pain. How that thing had managed to get through the armor was beyond her… but it had.

"I lowered the ramp, I can get onto the crawler, providing I don't bleed to death here in this tower. You know, even if I do live, I'm playing this for you, just so you have some vague idea how horrible it is. Do you realize who I am? What I've done? I'm the fucking Savior of the Wasteland, goddamn it, the Lone fucking Wanderer! I defuse bombs, survive radiation, I brought fucking PURE WATER to the Wasteland AND eradicated the majority of the Enclave on my own! You idiots have a lot of fucking nerve asking me to do shit like this!"

She actually felt a lot better…

Two minutes and a few Stimpak's later, Faith deleted the log. Venting had been great, but she wasn't about to die here, or let those morons hear her at a low point. No thank you. Gritting her teeth, she began peeling off the power armor, knowing it wasn't going to help her. If a Deathclaw could get through the cumbersome shit, she was done. She would stick with her leathers, at least she could move around properly and without risking wearing herself out even quicker.

Her left arm was shredded, the leather strips glistening with her own blood, though the wound was already closing. She gingerly flexed her arm, flinching. A few Stim's weren't going to be enough, muscle had been torn and they hadn't repaired all the damage. But she couldn't be greedy with her supplies, she had no idea what was waiting for her on that crawler. Taking a deep breath, she shouldered her weapons and headed out.

She had made it out of the controller tower and promptly half a step forward when she was greeted to a ball of fire, right in her face. Faith barely managed to stumble back, losing her footing and fell, her head cracking on the steel steps she had just alighted.

"Well, well, well… looks like we're going to get our final rematch after all…"


	12. She Who Dares –Faith's Story

**12: She Who Dares –Faith's Story: Part Three**

"You're supposed to be dead."

Colonel Steve Austin looked up from his perch at his bolted down, steel desk when he heard the very familiar, much hated voice of the Lone Wanderer, the little Vault Girl who had become a 'hero', much to his displeasure. "I was, you didn't miss either of your marks, girl." He said, keeping his profile to her.

Faith was lying on a thin cot, feeling the steady vibrations beneath her and assumed they were on the mobile crawler. The cot was built into the wall, supported with steel beams and brackets, much like everything else. She had woken up sore, and not in the leather's she had stripped down too. She was wearing nothing but her thin boy cut panties and dirty, graying camisole. Gingerly, she tried sitting up, pain in her left arm reminding her of what had happened with the Deathclaw.

Her arm had been tended too; a fresh bandage wrapped around what was now a probably healed wound. Her head seemed to have been tended too as well, there was a lingering, dull pain and she knew she was lucky to have woken up at all given how hard she had gone down.

Cautiously, Faith swung her legs over the edge of the bed, toes curling at the feel of the cold, hard steel beneath them. She kept her gaze locked on the man at the desk. The man who had saved her life, then tried to take it on more than one occasion. The murdering bastard who had killed her father… she gritted her teeth, struggling not to leap at him.

"Don't bother Faith." He warned, not even giving her the courtesy of looking at her, turning his attention back to the papers he had been reading. "You're unarmed, weak, and chained to that bed."

She glanced down, realizing that there was a tether wrapped around her right ankle, frowning. "Why am I still alive, Austin?" She demanded finally.

"I wasn't always part of the Enclave you know," He ignored her question, his voice –already tinted with an accent-, softening into a drawl that would have normally melted any other woman. "I was once… like you. Idealistic."

"I don't give a flying fuck about your life story, murderer."

"The point is, hero, I understand you." He swiveled in his chair suddenly, smiling coldly when Faith recoiled. "Don't like your handiwork?"

The front of his head was covered in a metal plate, one ice-cold blue eye glaring at her, the other red… a robotic eye. He wore an open shirt, revealing his upper torso, such as it was. The right side, was fit and muscular, the left… muscular but…

"Android… that's Commonwealth tech." Faith finally managed to choke out.

"I'm hybrid honey, part man, part machine, mostly man. No thanks to you." He spat, rapping his knuckles on his steel breastbone. "You killed me, I was dead, but one of my boys managed to drag me out through the service tunnels, the only survivor of your little hero massacre at the Memorial."

"Massacre? You Enclave fucks got what you deserved! How many people have _you massacred_?" She hissed venomously, struggling now against the tether.

"Hundreds." He stood up, surveying her coolly. "Amazing what they did though, bringing me back… they were desperate, you wiped out nearly all of the remaining Enclave forces in the Wasteland."

"Not all, I'm working on it though."

* * *

><p>"Get up!"<p>

Gritting her teeth, Faith remained right where she was, on all fours with her head hanging down, blood trickling from her mouth. Austin had gotten her all back to top condition just to beat her ass apparently.

"What's the Brotherhood doing, Faith?" He demanded, circling her, hands clasped behind his back as he glared down at her. "Ever since you showed up, they've been sending in the cavalry. What's the mission?"

"Does it really matter?" She laughed humorlessly, slowly pushing herself up into a kneeling position, tilting her head back to store at him. He was bare from the waist up, what was left of his actual body sweating from the rounds they had just went. He had found out that she wasn't as easy to knock around anymore. She had given it almost as good as she had gotten it, fueled by hate. She had never hated anyone the way she did him, and she doubted she ever would.

"Probably not. We're going to blow that shithole Citadel of theirs up anyways."

And with that, she was back on her feet, swinging her fist with all the strength she could muster.

Austin didn't stumble back, though he did raise a finger to his now bleeding nose, a grin spreading across his face. "Thatta girl, had to get under your skin, didn't I? It piss you off, Hero? Knowing I'm about to blow the rest of your family straight to Hell?"

"I'm going to kill you and this time, you're going to stay dead."

* * *

><p>"This is Colonel Austin, we have an escaped prisoner running loose. I want her found and shot, immediately!"<p>

That was familiar, Faith thought as she flew down the narrow corridor. Up, she needed to go up. Austin's steel forehead had held up great, until she rammed him repeatedly into one of those handy steel shelves bolted into the wall. He had gone down long enough for her to hunt up her gear.

And now she was running like crazy, shooting everything in her way and really hoping she wasn't going to have another Raven Rock experience. She seriously doubted her Ghoul in Shining Armor would be waiting to pull her broken and bloodied carcass off the ground if she had to do another suicide leap.

It was another series of moments that blurred. She was aware she had been shot, repeatedly, with bullets and lasers, and she had what was a promising burn on her ass and backs of her thighs, but she was somehow, suddenly on top of the crawler. She was nearly there. All she had to do was blow this bitch up and then she could do the whole 'I'm dying' routine, again.

"Stop her, goddamn it!"

One glance over her shoulder told Faith she was about to find out if her parent's bullshit about God was true and very soon. "No, no, no…" She hissed, leaping over a metal grate and landing on the platform below hard enough to jar her bones. "Not yet…"

She found the terminal, tears of pain and frustration clouding her vision as her fingers stumbled over the keyboard.

"Back off, Hero."

She heard the click of the gun. "No."

"Last chance."

She snorted. "I get a chance? Aren't you supposed to kill me?"

"Maybe I don't want too." Austin said coldly. "Maybe I like having you around." When she actually hesitated at that, he shot her in the leg, watching impassively as she dropped to one knee with a low scream. "Don't mean I won't fuck you up, girl."

She pressed one final key before dropping backwards, laughing.

Austin darted forward, blue eyes widening when he seen the location she had triggered, knowing it couldn't be undone. "Well shit…"

"Hey, Austin… what do you think about dying alongside me? Fitting isn't it?"

"Probably." He grabbed her by the hair and began dragging her away from the terminal. "You remind me of someone I used to know, Hero, gal by the name of Brooks. She was a little spitfire too… never irritated me the way you do though."

"You try killing her too?" Faith was blacking out from pain and fatigue, blood loss probably as well, not even minding he was using her own hair to pull her to who knew where.

"No. I loved her like she was my own."

He almost sounded human. She managed to reach for her gun, holstered around her right thigh. "You going to kill me now, Austin?"

He didn't answer her, his gaze focused straight ahead.

She followed his stare, spotting the Vertibird that had apparently just landed, noting the emblem painted on the side of it. The Brotherhood, they had finally made it. She almost started laughing again, her gun falling limply from her hand.

Austin came to a halt just as the Vertibird's door swung open, watching the mercenary, the husband, leap down to the platform and hoisted Faith up. "Take her and go." He ordered gruffly, shoving her forward.

Mark caught Faith with one arm, cradling her against him. He spared her a cursory look before raising his other arm, this one with sawed off shotgun in it. "Lyons, grab her, she needs medical help."

Austin watched as Faith was dragged into the Vertibird. He saw her mud brown eyes open for a moment, focusing on him and flashed her a sneering smile. "Be seeing you, Hero."

"Not fucking likely." She muttered as she slipped into unconsciousness.

Mark didn't waste time with words. He just finished the job Faith had started, making sure that no amount of Commonwealth technology could bring this asshole back.

* * *

><p>Faith woke up again, long enough to watch from Mark's arms as the air base, the last remaining Enclave force in the east, was blown to hell and back. She fell back asleep smiling.<p> 


	13. Uncomfortable

**13: Uncomfortable**

Jeff Hardy was sick to his stomach and didn't bother hiding it. He didn't have the time nor the inclination, he just found the nearest empty object in the small, underground room and began hurling everything in his stomach.

Looking a bit green around the gills himself, Shawn rubbed the back of his neck, trying not to take in the carnage that surrounded them.

They had cleared out the Vault of Fiends, and finally come to what was the 'leader's' room. No signs of Faith whatsoever and they had massacred everyone…

They were Fiends, they raped and pillaged, destroyed everything they touched… but still… this was a bit much for Shawn. He had been under the impression they were coming in quietly, but that had quickly gone out the window as Mark's temper had peaked when he found nothing of his wife. The ghoul, Kane, had moved efficiently but with no less brutality, cutting and gunning down anyone in his way.

Blood had been everywhere… was everywhere…

Snorting, Mark flicked his hair out of his face, his cold eyes fastened on Jeff. "Best swallow the rest down son, we're leavin'."

Jeff managed to raise a shaky middle finger.

* * *

><p>"I'm not comfortable with this, Courier."<p>

Courier turned to look at John and frowned, studying him thoughtfully. Ever since meeting up with him, he had been there, she had come to rely on him the most out of all her companions, including Shawn. That probably had something to do with the fact that he was a soldier, like her, and understood that sometimes shit needed to be done and it would get messy.

They stood at on a pier, overlooking Lake Mead. They had come through Calville Bay to get here and that had been pure hell. Cazadores made their nest here and they were one of the most vicious Mojave creatures ever, they were like nothing she had ever seen before. Poisonous, hard to kill, stingers, and fucking flew.

"I'm not either, swimming ain't my thing but…" Sighing, she began peeling off her clothes, careful to keep the rebreather Jack had outfitted her with separate. "At least we won't drown."

John snorted, joining her in shedding his own clothing, knowing they were going in wearing nothing but their bare skin and maybe a knife. "Sure, that's not the problem, it's the fucking Mirelurks."

Yeah, that was a serious problem. Courier frowned, strapping her belt around her waist, glancing down at the waterproof satchel that held the ballasts and detonator. On her other hip, was a sheathed knife, a very sharp one that would hopefully keep anything with sharp teeth and pinchers from getting too close. "You ready, Cena?" She asked, turning to look at him.

He was, sort of, standing there as naked as her, his rebreather in one hand, a knife in the other. "Yeah… I suppose." His blue eyes surveyed her and a half-grin cocked his lips. "Looking good, Commander." It wasn't the first time he had seen her naked, but it was definitely better than the last time. He swallowed hard at the memory of her lying on the theater stage in the Sierra Madre, right after… after…

"I'm telling Melina."

"That's a low blow."

After putting on their rebreathers, they both dived in. The water wasn't too bad, it was cool but not cold, one of the few perks about living in a desert. Following the coordinates her waterproof –thank God- Pipboy was displaying, she began swimming, John right alongside of her.

Fortunately, they didn't run into any Mirelurks, but swimming such a distance and then underwater was straining. And uncomfortable, who knew what was attaching itself to her? Once the ballasts had been set on the still in damn good condition plane, she and John both swam for the surface.

"Let's get back to shore and set the detonator off, I want to go home."

"You and me both, Cena."

* * *

><p>Faith never imagined she would wish she was still a prisoner of Colonel Steve Austin, Enclave bastard extraordinaire. She was still fuzzy on his final motives, why he had let her go when it seemed like he would take her down with him, but at least she had always known where she stood with him and her chances for survival.<p>

With 'Taker, she was at a complete loss. Even without the collar, and at top condition, she knew she never would have been able to take him. She was good, but he was better, no doubt about it. He was also sadistic and ruthless, which only made him all the more dangerous.

They had been travelling nonstop, he leading, her struggling to keep up. Her hands had been bound with a coarse rope before her, him hold the end of the rope, like a leash, like she was a dog. The Mojave heat and sun were going to kill her, she was burning, something she had never done before in her life. But then again, she didn't usually go around in her underclothes outside either. 'Taker had stripped her of her armor, the armor Sarah Lyons had gifted her with, leaving her in nothing but her boy cut shorts and a thin chemise. He had even taken her boots, and the hot sand and sharp, warm rocks were killing her feet.

"Please!" She gasped, her throat parched, unable to let out a shriek when he simply jerked the rope and fell harshly to the ground, narrowly avoiding a small prickly plant that she couldn't name.

Sighing loudly, 'Taker turned around, letting the rope drop from his hands and stared down at his captive. He had stripped her in the hopes of tanning her, making her stand out a little less, look a bit more local. He was trying to keep his trail low, knowing damn well his brother would eventually be on it. That promised to be fun but… he wasn't going to rush the family reunion just yet.

Faith winced when he bent over her, expecting to be hit, he was fond of hitting, her face was still heavily bruised and swollen. She couldn't keep the surprise from her eyes when she felt him picking her up while lowering himself at the same time, being cradled against his massive chest. A chest very familiar to her husband's, fucking identical actually. The surprise went to shock when a skin was held to her now cracked lips, water wetting them.

He watched impassively as she suckled greedily, finally cutting her off for two reasons. One, he wasn't about to run dry until they hit the next stop and two, he didn't need her making herself sick. He wasn't carrying the bitch to Jacobstown.

Faith shivered at the low growl that came rumbling from him.


	14. Snow

**14: Snow**

"Where the hell is everybody?"

"Oh thank God, you're back!"

Courier and John exchanged confused looks as Melina came running out of the kitchen area, bypassing Courier and going straight for throwing her arms around his neck. "Uh, everything alright?"

"No idea, I just need laid."

John frowned slightly, looking uncomfortable and annoyed. "Melina, not now. Where is everyone?"

She sighed, stepping away and scratched the top of her head as she thought about it. "Faith is still MIA so far as I can tell and I don't know 'bout the rest, they went off hunting her and never came back."

"When'd they leave?"

"Shortly after you did."

"Melina, that was a week ago!" Courier turned back to the elevator. "Goddamn it, this is not the time for everyone to be gone…" She was aware of John and Melina falling into step beside her.

John was quiet as they headed upstairs to the penthouse, sparing a glance down at Melina who looked troubled. Not a usual look for the generally carefree, fiery woman he had come to care about.

"Commander, John Cena and… unidentified. Commander, shall I add this woman to security access?" Yes Man's voice echoed around them.

"No." Courier said flatly, walking down the plushy, carpeted stairs. Eventually, she was going to move up into the penthouse, it was plenty big enough for her, and Shawn. It would also give the others more space down in the suite. She just had to get past her aversion to being monitored constantly by Yes Man, well, more so than what she already was. "Yes Man, I want you to access a Pipboy for me, you can do that, right?"

"Yes, Commander."

She loved the new upgrades she had given him, he was much less chatty. "Good, it'll be an older model, possibly tweaked. It'll be registered to a Vault user by the name of Faith."

_"You little bitch."_

They all jumped at the deep, dangerous baritone that suddenly flooded the room, both John and Courier automatically going for their weapons. It registered quickly that this was an audio recording taken from Faith's Pipboy and Courier felt her heart speeding up.

_"You like to play rough, hmm?"_

A very audible slap echoed around them.

_"So, do I, little sister, so do I."_

"That is the last thing recorded by the Pipboy, Commander." Yes Man's very welcome voice took back over. "It has since been destroyed. I am able to determine the last known location of the Pipboy as well as access the recordings prior to its destruction."

"Do that." Courier said quietly, not even wanting to imagine what 'Taker was doing to Faith. "And send out some Chairmen, we need to get the guys back here now."

* * *

><p>Finding the twin, Shawn, Jeff and the ghoul hadn't been hard, they'd been trudging back into the gates of New Vegas by the Securitrons. From there, they had been escorted back to the Lucky 38 and brought straight up to the penthouse.<p>

Now, Mark was standing in front of a monitor the size of a car, listening to the audio logs that were being played. He hadn't heard that voice in years, and he had never wanted to hear it again. Identical, or nearly so, they might've been, but the differences between them were blatantly obvious.

He was a mean, greedy prick who generally had done some nasty shit due to financial motivations. His brother… he was just evil, he would burn down a city just to watch it burn and laugh himself silly.

"_Never told you he had a twin, did he? Hmm, I bet I know why too… Because I'm the bad one_."

He knew who Faith was, or at least who she was married to… Mark clenched his hands into tight fists, paling beneath his tan.

"_Let go…"_

That was Faith, and Mark could hear the panic in her voice, hear her sudden gasp.

"_Stop it!"_

"End audio log." Yes Man's voice seemed… too cheerful, too loud. "Last known location was found to be two miles west of New Vegas, from the Thorne entrance. This was a week ago."

"They could be anywhere by now, she could be dead." Jeff said flatly, though from a distance, not about to get choked to death by the less evil but still evil twin.

Courier was waiting with a gun aimed directly at Mark's heart when he whirled around, seeing he was already reaching for his own weapon. "Not in my city." She said coldly. "And sure as hell not in my hotel."

"That's my _wife._"

"And we'll do what we can to help you find her but if you attack my people, I'll kill you myself. Clear?" When he didn't immediately answer, she dug the barrel into his chest. "Clear?"

"Crystal."

* * *

><p>Faith groaned, rolling gingerly on the mattress she had been ungraciously deposited upon the night before. When he realized she wasn't going to tan, 'Taker had provided her with something resembling clothing, one of his cast off shirts. It was too big and she wore it like a child playing dress up.<p>

He had made her trek up a mountain, and then let her get her ass handed to her a couple times thanks to encounters with wild beasts and scavengers. She wondered why he just didn't let her die. She barely remembered anything she had seen; they slept during the day and traveled by night, with only his sense of direction and starlight to guide them.

She had been asleep when they reached wherever it was he was taking them, falling asleep on her feet, and he had thrown her over his shoulder and carted her ass the rest of the way. She had woken up in time to see them entering a very large, wooden structure. He had muttered something to her about it being a lodge. She had heard voices surrounding them in the darkness but not much else. Shortly after being dropped into bed, she had passed out again.

Frowning, she sat up, hands automatically going for her neck. The collar was still there. Not that she was overly surprised. Quietly, she stood up, looking around for her captor. He was nowhere to be seen. It was daylight, the window had no coverings and she could see that the sunlight was… not overly bright, it was as if someone had dimmed it, maybe added a blue hint to it.

Curiously, she made her way to it, trying to ignore the cold wooden floor beneath her feet. What she seen out there made her heart stop as her mind struggled to comprehend what she was looking at.

Snow. She was looking at snow.


	15. Little Girl

**15: Little Girl**

"You can't stay here, boy."

"Don't call me that."

Dr. Henry eyeballed Luke Calaway with distaste, wondering how he had found his way here to Jacobstown. The last time he had seen either of the Calaway boys had been in… he had to think about it, he had been in Freeside. He had defected to the NCR at that point, it had been 2251, they had both been ten and freshly orphaned. Their father, an amoral bastard who had been Henry's lab partner in 2241, had apparently gotten what he had deserved, a painful death.

The boys had been brought to him in the hopes he would take them in, which he hadn't. He had sent them packing back to Enclave, wanting nothing to do with them.

So when Luke had shown up out of nowhere, thirty years later, he had been a bit surprised. He had recognized Luke immediately, he was the one with the black hair, but both boys had resembled their father, and both had probably gotten his height and build. He had kept tabs on the boys, not that he had had much choice, especially with one of them going full out with the Enclave and earning himself the moniker of 'Undertaker', not something one would forget. He had gathered that Mark had removed himself from the Enclave, if Henry would have had to pick a twin, it would have Mark to be the smart one.

"I heard you were dead."

Luke smirked, flicking a strand of his too long hair off his forehead. "As you can see, I'm not."

"Pity, like I said, you can't stay here."

Dr. Henry's assistant, Calamity, a female ghoul, growled when the behemoth lifted the doctor off his feet via a hand to the throat. "Let him-"

"Shut up or I'll kick your head right off your rotting neck."

Calamity shut up.

"Now, old man," He turned his attention back to the squirming doctor. "Not a word to anyone that I'm here, understand? I'll stay out of your way, you stay out of mind."

"They won't let you stay!" Henry wheezed.

"The muties? Sure they will, because they don't know who I am and it's going to stay that way." 'Taker let Henry fall to the floor and spared a glance over his shoulder. "I'm warning you, cross me and I will blow this place sky high."

"Fine, fine. Just go, get out." Henry ordered, getting to his feet with as much dignity as he could muster.

"Not a word Henry, to nobody." 'Taker warned, not trusting the wily wretch. "I know you're still in contact with some of the others, leave me out of the talks."

"Fine."

"Good."

* * *

><p>Mark sighed, tired eyes roaming over the map for what seemed like the hundredth time. Courier had given him all the intel she had on the Enclave, locations 'Taker had been spotted, and areas she knew he wouldn't, or couldn't be in.<p>

"This is all the help you can give?" Kane asked, much more alert than his companion.

"I've got Securitrons searching for them, what few I can spare. David sent out some Chairmen to do some recon, but myself, personally… I can't do anything. I'm in the middle of a war here if you haven't noticed." Courier said quietly, gesturing around the room, which was indeed littered with maps, plans, schematics, and a million other things. She glanced at her companions, considering them then shook her head. She wasn't about to send Shawn or Melina with this man, she still didn't trust him. John she needed with her and Jeff-

"I'll go with you."

Jeff was going with him… what the hell?

Mark cocked a brow at the smaller man. "Why?"

"Just… trust me, you'll need my help."

Courier exchanged looks with Shawn, who shrugged. "Is that… is that a good idea?"

"Probably not, but I'm going anyway."

Kane looked the little man up and down, snorting. "Dead by sundown."

Jeff just clamped his lips together, keeping quiet.

* * *

><p>"Here's how this works, Faith."<p>

Faith winced when she was jerked up onto her tiptoes by her hair, hands automatically going to grip 'Taker's wrist.

"If you try running, that collar with go off. If you fuck with it, it'll go off. If you fuck with me, I'll set it off. And if none of that works, the Nightkins will fuck you up and I don't think you'd like it."

"Nightkins?"

"Haven't seen one yet, have you?" He smirked wickedly and pulled her out of the room he had claimed as theirs, dragging her down the hallway. "We're in a town that is mostly mutants, Supes and Nightkins. The Supes aren't too bad, the Nightkins… they're mentally unstable and if you stare, or bother them, they will kill you."

She struggled not to stumble as he walked down the stairs, and then struggled not to stare. Nightkins… were purple, and twitchy. She remembered her first time encountering Super Mutant in DC with Mark, and remembered Fawkes… these were… purple.

'Taker brought his hand down on her ass, hard, causing her feet to leave the floor and smirked when she let out a cry. "I said no staring."

"Son of a…" Faith's hands were clamped on her now tender backside, turning to glare up at him. "I will kill you eventually."

He bent down until they were nose to nose, searching her eyes and wasn't surprised to see that she honestly believed that, his own glimmering wickedly. "You are more than welcome to try, little girl."

"Don't. Call. Me. That."

"Why?"

"Because I am not a little girl." Faith spat, almost instantly regretting it when his eyes scanned her from top to bottom. Swallowing, she took a step backwards. Her ankles collided with the steps and his hands came out, pushing at her shoulders. Faith grunted when she landed on her back on the wooden staircase.

He was on her in an instant, wedging himself between her thighs, one hand moving to her side, the other palming her breast through her shirt. "No, no you're not…"


	16. Suspicion

**16: Suspicion**

The Boomers, dealt with, had their aid coming up. Chairmen, loyal to her. Omertas, now under new management and loyal to her. Cannibals at the Ultra Luxe, dead and gone, she was going to need to find someone to run that hotel, it was a waste to let it sit idly by. "Who else is on the list?"

John looked over the print out Yes Man had given him, frowning. "The Brotherhood of Steel."

"Oh great… and?"

"The Great Khans…"

Well that explained why he was frowning. John had serious, serious issues with the Khans, and she was betting it stemmed from Bitter Springs. "Want to talk about it?"

"Why?" He threw down the paper. "You already know what happened, you read the report."

"I want to hear you tell me."

He sighed, burying his face in his hands and shook his head. "No."

"John…"

"I'm going to go find Melina, spend some time with her before you drag me off again." He pushed away from the table abruptly and didn't give her a second look as he stormed out of the room.

Groaning, she leaned back in her chair and ran her fingers through her hair, trying to work out some snarls as she contemplated her next course of action. The Brotherhood of Steel… she had no idea what they were like out East, apparently heroes, but here in the Mojave… well, they had bitten off more than they could chew with the NCR and gotten their asses handed to them.

She remembered something about Helios, a powerplant of sorts, there had been a battle for it. Could be important, she would definitely have to check it out.

As for the Khans, that would definitely be a dangerous trip and one she wasn't sure John would be able to make with her. Maybe for that one, she would take Shawn, he was pretty good with people.

From what she knew of Bitter Springs, it had been… a disaster. The NCR already had a shady past, she had known that for years, even before reluctantly joining them, but this… this was just a tragedy.

"Well, shit."

* * *

><p>"You guys are fixing to head back out, aren't you?"<p>

John's gaze was pulled from the ceiling when Melina asked that and rolled onto his chest. Post-coital talking was not his forte, it wasn't hers either, and her asking that… he frowned slightly. Untucking a hand from behind his head, he reached out to run calloused fingers through her tousled hair, a reluctant smile forming when curls twined around the digits. "Yeah, we are."

She sighed, resting her head on top of him, listening to his heart beating. "What are we?" She heard it instantly speed up.

John felt like a fish out of water, he had absolutely no words, didn't know what to say and found himself wishing he was back in Lake Mead, worrying about Mirelurks.

"Hey, big guy, chill. I'm not asking for a commitment."

His heart went even faster.

"I'm not a committing kind of gal."

"Then…" He was even more confused.

"I just wanted to know what you thought, you being the marrying kind and all."

"Oh…" He considered that, trying to envision himself being married to Melina. Honestly, he had a hard time seeing himself doing anything, he figured he would be dying any day what with the shit Courier liked getting them into. The shit he had volunteered for.

Melina studied him thoughtfully, finally leaning up to kiss his chin. "Get some sleep, John, I'm sure River is going to have you running ragged again soon enough."

"Probably."

"Thought so."

* * *

><p>"You're going with John."<p>

"Wait, what?" Melina paused in washing her hair, squinting out from under the suds that coated her head. She really did love this shampoo that was stockpiled in the hotel's stores, it seemed House had been planning on reopening someday, or maybe he was just nostalgic for this Pantene stuff. She could make out River leaning in the open bathroom doorway and huffed, dunking underneath the water to rinse.

"There's been a call for help from the NCR, in a camp north of here. They need medical supplies and someone to help… scout an attacker." River had waited patiently until Melina was back in an upright position, water streaming down her face. "He can handle it, I think, but I want you to go with him, just in case."

"You don't usually send me out anymore…"

"Yeah, well, this is different. I think you're just the right person for this job."

Melina was a bit suspicious but didn't voice it. "All right…"

"I'll have details for you in the morning."

* * *

><p>"Why are we following him?" Kane demanded, watching as Jeff poked around the entrance of a cave.<p>

Three days on the road, hunting for signs of Mark's brother and or Faith, and nothing. They had hit every town and microscopic settlement, spoke with everyone and everything they passed, and still nothing. No one had seen or heard of the pair. So now, now Jeff was hunting for someone, or someone's, he just wasn't saying who exactly. Which was making Mark paranoid, he had a don't trust anyone policy in effect at the moment and Jeff was acting a little suspicious.

"No idea. We could kill him and just do it ourselves."

Kane grunted, not approving of that idea. Themselves, that part was fine, killing the little scientist was not.

"Johnson, don't you dare shoot me, you old bastard!"

They both frowned when Jeff hollered, watching curiously as he disappeared inside.

"Step on a wire and you'll blow your own damn self up!"

That was not Jeff. Now more than curious, they followed him inside.

* * *

><p>"I'm not taking it off, so don't bother asking."<p>

Faith recoiled at the sharp tone the doctor used with her, wondering what she had done to him to piss him off. Of course, being dropped in his… lab, office, whatever, probably hadn't helped. "Look, I can…"

"Hold still, young woman, or I'll get very sloppy with these stitches."

"Stitches?" Her brown eyes widened when he held up what looked like a tiny, curved needle from between her reluctantly, very awkwardly spread legs. "Oh… no, it's… it's not… not that bad, is it?"

Doc Henry's brow wrinkled, sympathy flashing through his eyes for a brief moment. "It's not that bad, but bad enough. I'll have Calamity give you something for the pain."

Calamity, the ghoul nurse, approached quietly. Some smoothskins didn't take well to the 'walking corpse' factor. She arched what would have been an eyebrow when Faith just smiled weakly at her, apparently more embarrassed about her current condition then the ghoulette with the needle. "You'll just feel a pinch, honey." She said as calmly as her raspy voice could be.

Faith tried not to tense. Needles, she had always despised needles.

Once finished, Calamity withdrew the now empty syringe, her filmy gaze fastened between the open legs. "That is… what… did he…" She paused, taking a deep breath and hesitantly looked back up into the young woman's face.

Faith was looking directly at the ceiling, her pale face bright red.

Henry shook his head. "Let it alone, Calamity." He glanced up when his nurse moved to the head of the bed, frowning. "And don't touch the collar. Fiddle with it and you'll kill us all."

"Can't we remove it?" She asked, taking Faith's hand and squeezing reassuringly.

"Do that and he'll kill us all."


	17. Remnants

**17: Remnants**

"Let me see if I have this right…." There weren't too many things that surprised him anymore, but damn had Jeff managed to spring one on him. "This… Cannibal Johnson, man, what kind of name is that?"

"Cannibal" Johnson smiled, baring what few teeth he had left and chuckled. "It's the kind of name that make the locals think twice about messing with an old man, sonny."

Jeff wasn't smiling. "Come on, let's hurry this along."

"Whatever, Hardy, anyways… you're… Enclave?" Oh the irony here. Mark had left the Mojave to escape the Enclave, to escape that life, and now… here he was, some twenty years later just waltzing back into it. Like a fool.

Johnson nodded, not missing the tic in the other man's jaw. "Former, key word there. I'm a Remnant. I served in Navarro." He hesitated for a very brief moment. "With your daddy, if I'm not mistaken."

"No."

"Dr. Calaway."

"That… man, was not my father. I don't have one." Mark spat through gritted teeth. He didn't have too many memories of his father, but the ones he did have… were messed up. There had been a talking Deathclaw, and a lot of murder. His old man had been very fond of torturing his 'patients', and had wound up dead. The irony of that was, Calaway senior had designed his 'surgery' room to be soundproof, so no one would hear the things he was doing to the poor sons of bitches he had strapped down in there. It was in that soundproof, no way for help to hear him screaming, that he himself had been murdered in.

"Back to the reason we're here." Kane figured it was time to steer the conversation back on track.

"Yes," Jeff obviously agreed, shifting on the cinder block Johnson was using for seats. "I know you're still in touch with others."

"There are others?" Mark ran a hand down his face, sighing.

"A few." Johnson eyed him. "Not on some vengeance kick, are you?"

"I'm looking for my wife."

"She Enclave?"

Jeff smiled humorlessly. "She's the Lone Wanderer."

"From D.C.?"

Jeff nodded.

Johnson whistled, rubbing his bald head. "The woman who wiped out the entire east cell of the Enclave?"

"That would be the wife."

"Well, ain't that funny… You left to get away from the Enclave and then marry the woman who took them all out."

Mark didn't share in the Remnant's amusement. "She was taken as a slave, I want her back."

"Sure you do, sonny, woman like that, mmm. What's this got to do with me?"

"The Undertaker has her."

Johnson groaned, shaking his head. "Luke has her? Well sorry to tell you, she's dead, and probably better off for it."

Kane was not surprised when Mark lunged, hands out for the old man's throat.

* * *

><p>"Let me see…" Johnson rubbed his throat gingerly, speaking with a slight whistle in his tone as he glared at the now restrained Mark. After being tackled and choked until he was nearly dead, or so it seemed to him, Jeff and the ghoul had pulled the big monster off of him and stunned him long enough to bind his hands behind his back. "I keep in touch with Daisy and Judah, that's about it. Henry took off quite some time ago and I couldn't give a rat's ass about Orion or his whereabouts."<p>

"And Luke?" Jeff asked quietly, trying not to find it odd to be using the Undertaker's birth name. "You have no idea…"

"None. He was… with the Enclave when the Rangers finally whipped their ass, not too long before the Rangers signed up with the NCR. Last time I heard anything about him was then, and that was in… 2270, 69… I forget."

"You're lying, Johnson." Jeff said, sounding cold, it was back to business as usual. "That man has been a terror for the past decade, anyone who doesn't have their head up their ass or is NCR knows it."

"Yeah well, with the Legion around, who cares about the Undertaker?"

"The people he's killed, settlements he's burnt to the ground, the women he's raped…" Jeff ticked off on his fingers, sarcastically. "You know, he sounds like Legion, are we sure he hasn't decided to join up with them?"

"No, Legion does it because it's their way of life, they believe that they are… bringing law and civilization to us lower beings." Johnson snorted. "'Taker does it because he's pure evil, because it gives that black hole in his chest a bit of joy."

"Wait. Wait. Wait. Let's backtrack, he does _what_ to women?" Kane demanded, pretty sure Mark had caught that too by the way his face had gone bright purple and then deathly white.

"Well, he kills them, all of them really. Men, women, children, he don't give a shit."

"No, the other thing."

"Oh, you mean… well, he's a man, and the Mojave has some attractive women… it's been known to happen, every…. Every now and again…"

Mark was growling, actively working against the ropes.

"It's not uncommon, anywhere, men will be-"

"Pigs." Jeff snorted, walking over to undo Mark's wrists. "Men are pigs."

"If he touched her…"

Kane did want to point out the irony. Mark wasn't any saint, and he had done some things in the east that well… well, him and his brother were more alike than they cared to admit apparently. But Mark had found his saving grace, and irony was: his brother now had her.

* * *

><p>"Mark Calaway, you tall sonbitch, you get your ass up here and give Miss Daisy a hug!"<p>

Mark could only stare at the ancient broad with horror. Cannibal Johnson had directed them to Novac to meet up with her. Johnson had figured since she had actually remained integrated in society, she would be in a better position to help them out. So he had set out, along with Kane, following the directions they had been given and leaving Jeff behind to 'discuss' other matters with Johnson. "Who the hell are you?"

"Who the hell am I, he asks… You don't remember Miss Daisy? From Navarro?"

Oh Christ, another one of those, was he going to know all the Remnants? And how the fuck did that little tart Jeff know these people? "Jeff Hardy sent me." He said cautiously.

She nodded, looking unsurprised. "Us… well, you know," She mouthed 'Enclave'. "Have to stick together."

Now that was interesting.


	18. Bitter

**18: Bitter**

At first, John thought Melina didn't know where she was going, or that she didn't realize, not like she knew his history. But the closer they drew to Bitter Springs, the more his feet dragged and his head hurt. When the way too familiar ridge came into view, he flat out stopped. "Melina…"

"We're going, John." She said flatly, having read the files Courier had given her and knew they were here not only to aid the stupid NCR and scout the situation but to also try getting John to open up. "They need help, we're helping."

"I… I can't, Melina. I can't go in there… Fuck Courier, she put you up to this, didn't she?"

"Why are you asking questions when you already have the answers?"

"I will kill her, I will shoot her right in her non-existent heart!"

Melina watched as John Cena, the normally calm and extremely cool man she had grown to really like, had a spaz attack.

Whether he liked it or not, they were going to Bitter Springs.

* * *

><p>The last time Courier had dealt with the Khans, it hadn't been pleasant. Well, before she regained her memories at any rate, the NCR hadn't been kind to the Khans. She, however, had negotiated a successful hostage situation and defused it; she figured they might remember that since it wasn't too long ago.<p>

Red Rock Canyon was beautiful, and fortunately for her, the Khans had left their lovely little warning signs, marking the entranced to the territory. It was once inside that left her worried. The path was walled in on either side by the red rock, the canyon, and she knew eyes were on her.

Because the Great Khans had once upon a time revered strength and battle prowess, she had come in dressed in leathers and carrying her weapons. She knew her scars would be a testament to the fact that she was indeed a warrior and not a poser. Hopefully they still took single people alive and not outright kill them.

"Well… if it isn't the infidel."

* * *

><p>Once John had gotten over his panic attack, he had taken the lead. It had been getting dark so he had led her to a ridge; he had called it Coyote Tail Ridge, and set up shop. She had quietly helped him to build the fire they now had going, overlooking the small encampment below as well as the Mojave.<p>

So now she was sitting here on her bedroll, staring into the flames, and sipping her whiskey. It had been hard, at first, to ignore John's constant pacing, the chain smoking, and the occasionally muttered curses against Courier. But, after the fourth shot, she was pretty much able to ignore it.

"I know why she wanted you to bring me here." He announced, finally halting in his pacing in order to turn and glare down at her.

"I'm glad one of us does." She hiccupped.

"She wants me to 'open up' to you."

"Well River knows best, don't she? Though how on earth that cold, frigid bitch knows anything is beyond me." Melina snorted, her cheeks burning with the roses she used to get teased about. "That's why you follow her everywhere, huh? Or is it just the soldier boy in you?"

"2278, we were sent here to track down the Khans. NCR thought this was their base of operation," John snorted, ignoring her slightly buzzed, okay, definitely buzzed, rant. "We were ordered to take out everyone, it was supposed to soldiers anyway, or whatever the Khans call their fighters."

"Warriors."

"But it wasn't warriors, it was women, and children, and the infirm. This wasn't a base of anything, it was where they kept their families during the fighting. And even when we tried to call it in, we were still ordered to gun them down."

Melina's flask was halfway to her mouth, forgotten, eyes fastened on him.

"And like the good soldier boy I was, I did it. The sick, the women, and even their babies, gunned them down." John had turned away from her, hands clenched at his sides. "And after that, they didn't even… acknowledge they were wrong, that we were wrong. The NCR just wiped it under the rug and gave us medals, told us we had done good, and I couldn't… I couldn't live with that, knowing what I had done, and the flag I fought for was so… wrong."

"John…"

"So yeah, I follow River, I came out of my retirement to follow her because I think… I believe in her, and what she can do. And she believes in _me_, and she… she thinks I'm a good man."

"Oh… John…"

* * *

><p>There were two people at the top of her 'never wanna see again list', the Undertaker and Caesar, or Randy, whoever the hell he styled himself as. While this man wasn't either of them, he was a lackey of Caesar and brought back very unwanted memories of fertility drugs, demands of baring a son, and a very odd, uncomfortable but semi-good night with the rather insane, vicious leader of the Legion.<p>

"Woman, you have yet to return to your Master."

"Ted, if you ever say that to me again, I will gut you." Courier whispered harshly through gritted teeth as she walked arm in arm with him through the Great Khan encampment. The Legion was here, or at least, Vulpes was, Ted, whoever he was today. That met Caesar was recruiting the Khans, not good for her. "He is not my master."

"Woman, he has announced you as mother to his heir, he has gone as far as to-"

"Attempt impregnating me, didn't work, you can let him know for me by the way."

"Is House dead?"

"That's my little secret." She pulled her arm away from his, smiling when a man she recognized coming to greet them. "Jessup."

"Courier." He inclined his head towards her, offering a smile in return. "I see you're doing well."

"I am, as are you."

"It could've been a bad day for me in Boulder, worse for the NCR dogs. You have a silver tongue, my friend."

Ted stood there and watched as the Courier walked towards the lodge with the Khan she apparently knew, gesturing for one of his foot soldiers to approach. "Send a message to Caesar, he'll want to know she's here."


	19. Call Me Grandma

**19: Call Me Grandma**

"This is Jacobstown."

Even given her circumstances, Faith could definitely appreciate the all-mutant town. The only people she seen that weren't green-yellow or purple were her, 'Taker and Dr. Henry. Well, and Calamity, who was currently her escort outside. 'Taker had been kind enough to reset the perimeters on her collar, allowing to her venture outside the lodge and around the town. She found that as soon as she neared any of the fencing, it would start beeping and that was her cue to back away.

"Mutants… sane and living together without violence..." Faith said softly, taking in the super mutants who were working together. And then… then there were the Nightkins. "Well, most of them anyway…"

"Schizophrenia. Caused by the Stealth Boys, constant use, it's totally messed up their minds." Calamity said calmly, puffing on a cigarette. She held out the pack. "Want one?"

Nodding, Faith accepted the small offering and smiled when Calamity held out a matchbook. "Thanks."

"No problem kid, so…" Calamity shifted from one foot to the other. "How are you, um, doing?"

"All right."

"Kid, don't lie to me. I'm older than you by a century."

"Given that I fully expect to die any moment, I'm doing fine, surprisingly." Given her current circumstances, Faith figured she was living on borrowed time. For the most part, 'Taker was leaving her alone, off doing his own thing during the day. He had enough sway, or instilled enough fear, that nobody in the town would help her, and from what she had seen, there wasn't much in the way of electronics for her to tinker with in the hopes of getting out a message or maybe removing the collar.

What was the worst time for her was at night, when 'Taker would come back from wherever it was he had been and 'escort' her to the room they were sharing. Sometimes he was tired and simply slept, trapping her between him and the wall. Others… not so much, he arrived awake and in a mood. The bad moods, were bad, but didn't require anymore visits to Dr. Henry. The good moods, those were worse.

A lot worse.

"Well hello there, dearie!"

And when Faith turned around to find a Nightkin wearing sunglasses and a huge sun hat towering over her, her day went from 'okay' to 'shit'.

* * *

><p>"What're you doing, Luke?"<p>

"I told you not to call me that, old man." 'Taker growled, climbing out of the hatch and into the fading sunlight.

Henry was not, or at least trying not to be, intimidated. "You have no business down there."

"What're you hiding down there, doc?" He brushed his hands off on his leather pants, glaring down at the much, much smaller, and older man. "What lovely toys have you Enclave fucks stowed away?"

"Like I said, none of your business." Henry's teeth rattled when he was violently shook, a very firm hand suddenly around his throat. "I can't even get in, Luke! There's no way, not without the others!"

"What others?"

Henry groaned, him and his normally not so fat mouth.

* * *

><p>"Look at you, dearie! You're just the cutest thing ever! You come here and let Grandma give you a good looksee."<p>

Faith hesitated, glancing at Calamity who simply shrugged.

"Faith, this is Lily. Lily," The ghoul approached the apparently female and obviously senile Nightkin. "Lily, this is Faith. She's… staying here for a bit." Out of the side of her mouth, she added: "Lily has a special condition, she's on medicine for it. She's… safe, most of the time."

Lily also had exceptional hearing and smiled, laughing loudly. "Leo doesn't like it when I take those nasty pills."

"But you take them, right, Lily?" Calamity asked, a hint of hesitation in her tone.

"Yes, yes. I'm taking them." Lily had stepped up to Faith, staring down at her intently.

All Faith could do was stare right back. There was something… maternal, in the mutant's eyes, compassion and yeah, a bit of crazy in there too. "Hello." She whispered, really hoping the meds kept Lily from snapping her in half.

"You just call me Grandma, dearie. From here on, I'm your Grammie."

Faith let out a muffled 'eep' when the Nightkin swept her up in a loving, if not terrifying and bone crunching, embrace. "Okay… Grammie."

Calamity could only stare.

* * *

><p>"Honey, I'm home."<p>

Faith didn't turn around, though she couldn't keep her entire body from tensing. "And how was your day, dear?" She asked quietly, keeping her eyes on the gently falling snow.

"Uneventful. Apparently the Enclave didn't really trust me." 'Taker wrapped his arms around her shoulders, dropping his chin to rest on the top of her head. "Not that I blame them, I'm pretty untrustworthy."

She didn't say a word.

"I'm not normally one for staying on in one place long, little sister."

She really wished he wouldn't call her that.

"But… nobody is going to come looking for us here… and I like the idea of shacking up for the winter… with you…" He had inclined his head enough so his mouth was at her ear, venom green eyes flashing when she shuddered. "What do you think, Faith? Think your husband will mind you bunking down with me?"

"I think he's going to kill you." If she didn't somehow manage it first.

'Taker snorted at that, hands gripping her hips. "Keep dreaming, little sister. That cowardly bastard took of east because he couldn't stomach things here. He's nothing but a pussy and don't you ever forget it."

Faith growled, clutching the window sill so tightly it hurt.

"You know what? I think I know what we're going to do this winter, how we're going to keep ourselves occupied." Oh this was going to be so much fun… he really was brilliant. The idea had come out of nowhere but what an idea. "Mark and I, practically identical twins."

Now where the hell had that come from? She frowned, trying to see where this was leading too.

"Course, we're not, we got our differences. Slight one, just the one actually… our hair." He was stroking her hair now, an evil smile curving his lips. "But yours is black too, just like mine."

"You're insane." She whispered, finally seeing where he was heading.

"We get your pregnant now… he'd think there was a chance it was his… course, he'd never be one hundred percent sure." 'Taker chuckled darkly, tracing the shell of her ear with his tongue. "Maybe you're already knocked up, hmm, Faith?"

'Taker frowned and stepped away from her when she began sniggering, roughly turning her so she was facing him and wasn't amused to see her smiling in amusement, aimed at him.

"You're an idiot." She giggled.

He cocked a black eyebrow.

"Fuck me all you want, no child would ever take root."

"We'll see about that. I've got plenty of bastards floating around that says you're lying."

She kept on giggling.

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** There is milk and cookies for anyone who may have an idea why Faith is apparently having a giggling breakdown.


	20. Anger

**A/N:** Alright, some good guesses on Faith, but no. Here's consolation cookies for everyone. It'll be explained in chapter 21. Sorry for the delay but I got distracted with Supernatural and Supernatural fan fic. Blame Musicchiller, seriously, go blame her.

* * *

><p><strong>20: Anger<strong>

The Great Khans never failed to amaze her. Courier admired their tribe-like culture, where the strong were revered but the weak weren't punished –much. Instead, the 'weak' were given jobs outside of the war parties. Such as farming, and working in the chem labs –growing crops and brewing drugs, she loved it.

If it weren't for the fact that she was here on business, and apparently had company in the form of the Legion, she would have probably enjoyed a stay. "Jessup, I need to see Papa, I needed to see him three days ago. What's the hold up?"

"Now Courier…" Jessup frowned, rubbing the back of his head with a dirty hand. "I can't just take you to him… he's pretty pissed right now with the NCR, and House…"

"But I'm not-"

"We all know you're running around as House's lapdog, and that you used to be a soldier."

"Chief Ranger, but still, I'm not flying under any flag but my own." She grabbed him by the wrist, forcing him to halt and stared up into his eyes pleadingly. "Jessup, you owe me."

"Don't… don't play that card…" He groaned, trying to look anywhere but her. He knew who she was, the Courier, the badass who had talked the NCR into letting him and his brothers walk after a hostage situation. A badass who had done some rather remarkable things, such as slip in and out of Fortification Hill, taken out the White Glove Society… yeah, she would've made a great Khan. "Look, I'll talk to him, see if I can't pull some strings."

"How long?"

"Tomorrow night, alright? It'll be tomorrow night."

"You're the best."

Jessup groaned again.

* * *

><p>"Hail Caesar." Vulpes greeted, clasping a fist against his chest.<p>

Caesar nodded impatiently, waving a hand to dismiss the legionaries that had accompanied him. It was rare for him to venture outside the safety of his encampment, especially these days, but this was a trip he hadn't been able to resist. He fell into step alongside his most trusted spy, cold eyes taking in everything. "How fares your endeavor with the Khans?"

"I think Papa Khan will come around."

"Good."

"He knows his days are numbered if the NCR wins this war."

"Hmmm."

"She's in the ring."

"Show me."

* * *

><p>Courier had decided to vent her frustrations out. The Khans employed a ring for training, settling disputes, and as a part of their warrior rite of passage. Since there was a never ending supply of men who wanted to challenge her, fighting was a great way to pass the time. That, and she figured, it might impress Papa Khan enough to see her when word got back to him, which it would.<p>

So far, she was on a winning streak, and enjoying herself. A lot. There was just something relaxing about a good fight. She had stripped down an old pair of jeans she had bought off one of the local traders and her chemise, her feet bare and fists up. "Just remember, you pull my hair, I'm pulling yours, Jenks."

Jenks, a Khan with a long, brown ponytail frowned, eyeballing her own shoulder length, loose hair before shrugging. "You could do with a cut."

"I'll rip your tail off, don't think I won't."

He swung at her.

Grinning, Courier ducked and turned in time to jab her fist right into his kidney.

* * *

><p>She had run through her line of partners, and beaten them all. He was impressed. She had always impressed him. The woman child who had nearly killed him all those years ago had grown into a killer.<p>

She was looking at the assembled crowd, grinning and trying to procure another challenger. Her hair was disheveled, her face ruddy, and she probably reeked of sweat. Her lower lip was bloodied and swollen, and she had various bruises forming. But still she called for more.

She was worthy.

* * *

><p>"Finally!" It was a damn good thing neither John nor Shawn were here, they both would have kicked her ass for all this fighting, but damn it felt good. Courier bent down, grasping her ankles in her hands and stretched while her next opponent discarded weapons. "So, who-"<p>

She froze, her deep blue eyes showing her sudden panic.

"Come now, woman, fight me."

It was Randy. The man who was terrorizing the Mojave, who had already laid claim to so many other territories. The man who had people crucified. The man who had killed so many of her friends. The man who had decided she would be great for giving him an heir and then tried getting one from her.

Panic left and anger emerged.

* * *

><p>Kane stared out into the night, listening as Jeff and Shawn conversed behind him over their campfire. They had been searching for weeks for sign of Faith and so far, nothing. In his rage, Mark had begun decimating any gang they came across, the Fiends were now nothing more than scattered remnants. Something the Mojave could rejoice over.<p>

But… Kane was worried where this rage would take the former mercenary if his wife was not found soon.

"Where else is there to look?"

Jeff twisted to look up at the older man who had finally decided to join them. "Well, the mountains… do you think she would go up there?" He pointed upwards, they were camped at the base.

Mark tilted his head back, frowning as he took in what the night would allow him to see. "No idea. I don't think she left because she wanted too, not unless… not unless someone pulled on her heartstrings." He spat a wad of tobacco into the flames, making them sizzle. "Bitch is a sucker for pitiful stories."

"Well there's not much up there. A mutant town and a lot of dangerous animals." Shawn had ventured to Jacobstown once or twice, usually to deliver medical supplies to the strange doctor who resided up there.

Jeff shifted uncomfortably. There was a bit more than that.


	21. That Bad Man

**21: That Bad Man**

"Bitch!"

Faith let out a shriek as she was thrown down the flight of wooden steps, her limbs flailing as she fell before everything crashed harshly on the floor. Everything felt broken but that didn't stop her from using her bleeding elbows to drag herself backwards, away from the advancing Undertaker.

He had not taken the news that there wasn't a snowball's chance in hell of getting her pregnant that well. Probably due to the fact that she had laughed at him like a hyena throughout the entire explanation, which was given while he was attempting to fuck her through the mattress.

"What the hell is-" Henry fell silent when he seen what was going on. None of the mutants were paying any attention, violence was violence to them, completely normal. He went to go help Faith but hesitated when the demonic growl of Luke cautioned him back.

Swallowing hard, he looked her over. She was covered from head to toe in bruises, bleeding from various cuts and scrapes, one eye completely swollen shut… she needed medical attention but he doubted he would be allowed to provide it. "You're going to kill her, Luke." He managed to say, pleased with how calm he sounded.

"Probably." He was on the ground floor now and planted a heavy foot right over her abdomen. "Run all that by me again, lil sister." He ordered.

Faith shook her head, though she started giggling, brokenly. Blood seeped from her mouth.

"Tell me again about how you were blasted with radiation and it killed off everything that made you a woman…"

"That's… about… it…" She managed through her sniggers, coughing violently when he increased the pressure, feeling something crack. "Go on, kill me!"

He was seriously considering it. When she had gone into that Purifier thing back in D.C., there had been enough radiation to kill her instantly, but it hadn't. It had, however, rendered her sterile. While that didn't overly bother him in the grand scheme of things, her laughing at him did.

The bitch was still laughing at him.

Faith stopped laughing when his next kick got her right in her head. She stopped everything but her ragged breathing.

* * *

><p>"Come on, come on…"<p>

"It's beeping faster, doc."

"I _know, _Calamity!"

"She's coming around!"

"Give her another dose, no point in her being awake if this thing goes off."

"What about us?"

"You're a ghoul and I'm an old man, shut up and dose her!"

And Faith was back out.

* * *

><p>"Wake up, kid."<p>

She did, reluctantly, her eyes fluttering open. Well, one eye, the other was still swollen shut. "Calamity?"

"Yeah, it's me smoothie."

"What's… ow… what's going on?" Faith felt Calamity's arm snaking around her, felt herself being pulled into a sitting position and winced. The pain wasn't as bad as it should have been, probably thanks to copious amounts of drugs, but it was still just this side of bearable.

"You got to get out of here, before the Undertaker comes back."

"But the collar-"

"We removed it," Calamity was now trying to guide the out of it and in pain young woman to her feet. "You have to go now…"

"But…"

"Lily is going to-"

"Oh my poor darling!"

That was the Nightkin's voice, Grammie.

"Careful Lily, she's hurt bad." Calamity said anxiously.

Faith actually whimpered as the giant purple… woman, hovered over her. She couldn't keep herself from cringing when Lily picked her up, everything hurt. She could only imagine the pain she would have been feeling if she hadn't been drugged up. "Where are we going?" She whispered, feeling the Nightkin cradling her against her giant chest, feeling the old… woman's… shawl brushing her face. For a mutant, she was surprisingly gentle.

"Grammie is going to run you somewhere safe, pumpkin." Lily rasped as softly as she could. "Leo says we should stay and kill the bad man but-"

"But Faith needs help, more than we can provide. Now go Lily."

Lily nodded once.

* * *

><p>Lily had been an old woman when she had been made, changed into what she was now, but the physical limitations of old age no longer held any sway over her. She could sprint long distances for a short period of time faster than any human and she was using that now to get Faithy as close to a human civilization as possible, as close to New Vegas as possible. Calamity had ingrained in her that Faithy needed to go to Julie in the Mormon Fort inside the city, but there was no way Lily, a mutant, was going to get past those gates.<p>

She couldn't worry about that now, her grandbaby was beginning to bleed again. That was her cue to stop. Frowning, she twisted her large head back and forth, surveying where they were. She hadn't taken the path, instead dashing through the woods and down the mountain, trusting her senses to get her where she needed to be safely.

That and that bad man was less likely to find them this way.

"Hold on dearie, Grammie is going to get you settled." She murmured, gingerly laying Faithy down on the softest patch of earth she could find. "It's getting dark, we're going to stop now, alright dear?" She crouched down, staring into Faith's face. "Faithy?"

"I'm awake." Faith murmured, the whole 'Faithy' thing registering in the back of her mind. Nobody had ever called her that before, but if this Nightkin was getting her the hell out of dodge, she could call Faith whatever she wanted. "Ow…" She tested her weight on her elbows, realizing that they were bandage and tried to prop herself into a semi-upright position.

Lily realized what she was trying to do and bent to help her, hoisting Faith until she was propped back against a pine tree. "Alright dearie, Grammie is going to have to look you over and give you your medicine."

Faith simply nodded, giving herself over to the care of a schizophrenic mutant.


	22. The Victim and the Queen

**22: The Victim and the Queen**

Randy was treating personally with the Khans, that was so not good for her. Courier stormed the small space of her tent, knowing she needed to calm down before she went to talk to Papa Khan in the main lodge. From what Jenks had told her, Papa was more inclined to side with the Legion than anyone else, just because of his hatred for the NCR. Papa was an idiot then as far as she was concerned. The Legion would turn on the Khans just as soon as they could, all the Khans would be was cannon fodder.

"Woman."

Speaking of… Courier turned, drawing her hunting knife from its sheath on her belt and darted, intent on slicing Caesar's throat. She grimaced when he caught her wrist and twisted in one smooth flick, the knife dropping reluctantly from her fingers. "Get the hell out!" She hissed, raising the other hand.

He caught that one as well, smiling coldly down at her. "Still belligerent. Vulpes relayed your message."

"Regarding the lack of offspring?" She bared her teeth at him in a very unfriendly way, eyes flashing. "Good."

"You _enjoyed_ that night."

In some weird, awkward way, yes. He had been rough and demanding, not overly attentive to her needs, but in some primal way… that had totally worked for her. "Not the point. You're not knocking me up with your bastard."

"Not at the moment." He applied pressure to her wrists, kneeling down and forcing her to go with him. "Right now, I simply wish to converse with you."

Courier hated the fact that her knees easily gave out on her, though the furs on the bottom of the tent were very comfortable. "Why?"

"Because you know what's going on in the Mojave, you have information."

"And why would I give that info to you? In case you didn't get it when I never bothered returning, we are _not_ on the same side."

He considered her, his head tilting to the side thoughtfully. "You are braver now that we are out of the fort." He said finally. "Were you simply catering to the enemy and protecting yourself with your subservient attitude?"

"Duh." He was a total idiot and she had to wonder how the hell he had made it to the head of… whatever the Legion was. "If you know anything about me, then you know I am subservient to no man, not anymore."

"How does a former Ranger, former NCR lackey, wind up in your position? You do realize, that second to House, you are the most powerful person in the Mojave? Even the NCR officials fall second to you, a woman." He was genuinely curious, and a bit appalled.

"You really have to get over your misogynist views, jackass. Anything you can do, I can do better and I have." Courier knew she was being arrogant and pushing her luck but she was unable to stop herself. Her eyes flickered to his forehead, noting the scar, more importantly, the scar's location. "I gave that to you, didn't I?"

Randy let go of her in order to reach up and brush his fingertips over the mark. "You missed."

"Not on purpose, I assure you."

* * *

><p>"Hold still dearie, Grammy is going to get you something to eat."<p>

"I'm cold." Faith whispered, wishing she could see properly, trying to squint through her swollen eyes. "Where are we?" She remembered falling asleep after Lily had put her down and then woke up again in the Nightkin's arms, being jostled as they went at a slower pace as they began encroaching upon Cazador territory. They had stopped, and she had no idea where. She just knew she was freezing.

Lily glanced down at the girl in her arms, gently easing her to the ground and then looked around. They were coming out of the mountains but there was still a bit of snow on the ground, they had come out at the north. "Here." She pulled off her very worn shawl and wrapped it around Faith's shoulders. "After you eat, I'll check your wounds and we'll go again."

Faith nodded, allowing her new adopted grandmother to adjust her to a sitting position. Everything hurt, and boy did she mean everything. That psycho had done a number on her and she felt tears sliding down her battered face. Not only did everything hurt physically but she was beginning to feel the emotional side effects, and she was afraid of drowning them.

She was afraid that after everything she had been through and overcome, this would be the thing to break her.

* * *

><p>"There's a fire."<p>

Shawn took the binoculars the ghoul held out, focusing in the direction he was pointed. "Nightkin." He said after a long moment, catching the large, purple mutant crouching down with something on what appeared to be a quickly made spit. "Cooking. That's-"

"Odd as hell." Jeff finished for him.

"What's a nightkin?" Kane asked, cocking his head to the side.

"Breed of mutants. They usually are schizophrenic due to their excessive use of Stealth Boys." Jeff supplied, checking his power cells for his laser pistol. "And they are not normally seen out and about during the day, they hate being seen."

"Well that one is cooking." Shawn next passed the binocs over to Calaway. "In the day."

"It's a she." Mark said flatly.

"Technically, they're asexual." Jeff corrected him, not looking at the merc, so he missed the glare he was given.

"Well, this one is wearing a broad brimmed women's hat with a faded pink ribbon." Mark tossed the binoculars back to Kane, crouching down to survey the map Shawn had procured for them to use. "Faith said the mutants were people to begin with, so that's a woman as far as I'm concerned. They capable of speaking?"

"They're very intelligent actually." Jeff looked amused for a moment, then hesitant. "It's their mental instability that's the problem."

"Well, she was talking to someone."

* * *

><p>"Hold on dearie, Grandma's almost through…" Lily soothed, gently peeling away the lightweight top Calamity had put Faith in prior to their departure. If Lily had been in her proper state of mind and not arguing with Leo over the bad man, she might have suggested that Faith be given clothing to protect her against the elements. As it was, Calamity had dressed the girl in the most lightest of garments, so not to agitate her wounds further.<p>

"How bad is it?" Faith whispered, trying to inhale through her nose because she made a very annoying whistling sound when her throat constricted even further. She was bare from the waist up and the wind wasn't doing her any favors.

Lily didn't answer.

"Hello?" Faith tried to pry her eyes open, gently feeling them with her fingertips. Puffy, and it hurt. "Grandma?" It didn't register how easy it was to say that.

"Leo says kill the bad man!"

Faith remembered Calamity's words about Lily's condition and began scooting backwards, or tried. She felt a very large hand suddenly wrap arm her upper arm, she felt herself being hoisted upwards, and she heard Lily fighting someone not too far away. "Help me!" It hurt like hell, but she began thrashing, trying to fight off whoever was pulling her up.

"Goddamn it, knock it off!"

She began screaming at the familiar baritone.

* * *

><p>"If you want to side with the Legion, be my guest, but you're a damn fool if you do it."<p>

Papa Khan was not impressed by the outsider's words, or how carelessly she presented them. "You do realize, you're treading on dangerous ground?" He demanded stiffly, ignoring the silence that reigned in his hut. A moment ago, it had been filled with talking and the sounds of merriment.

The Courier shrugged. She was sitting at the head table, alongside Jessup. Caesar and his entourage were on one side, she was at the other, and he was in the middle. He had originally no intention of dealing with her. He knew who she was, and what she had done for his Khan's back in Boulder City. But he also knew that once upon a time, she had worn NCR colors.

"I'm speaking the truth. Every tribe that has worked with or for the Legion has wound up assimilated or was wiped out. Is that what you want for your people?"

"That is what the NCR offers as well."

"I'm not the NCR. I don't speak for those imbeciles." She said calmly, ignoring the way Caesar/Randy –whichever he preferred at the moment- was studying her.

"Who then, Courier, do you speak for?"

"I speak for New Vegas and the free territories in the Mojave."

Randy leaned back in his chair, drumming his fingertips on the table softly. "So you would have us believe, infidel." His voice was low, and calm, but there was a hint of danger in the tone. "Everyone knows you work for Robert House."

Her mouth quirked up into a slight smirk. Sometimes it was easy to forget that only a small handful of people knew the truth. House was dead and she ruled New Vegas.

Long live the queen.


	23. Bad Men

**A/N: Lotsa language. F-Bombs and its variants ahead.**

Because it's been awhile:

Nightkin = type of Super Mutant. They're a bit more intelligent then their brethren but have serious mental issues.

Lily = Super awesome Nightkin. Seriously, I would so trade my grandma in for Lily.

Luke = evil Taker. Aka Courier's Deadman.

Mark = chaotic neutral/good Taker. Aka Faith's Deadman.

This story is based off of Fallout New Vegas with mentions of Fallout 3 -the Fallout Wiki can provide more info if you're interested and/or have yet to play either of these games. The wrestlers/people in the story belong to themselves and this is in no way meant to be a reflection of their personal lives.

* * *

><p><strong>23: Bad Men<strong>

"Who the hell are you?"

"Regis, I'm one of Papa's advisor's."

Courier stared at the Khan who had just entered her tent. "What do you want?"

He moved towards her. "There are Khans who would side with you." He said in a hushed whisper, obviously not wanting anyone to overhear him. "Not all of us are eager for this alliance with the Legion, we know how it will play out."

"Yeah, with your women enslaved as breeders and slaves and your men fighting just to be allowed to draw breath. Not exactly how I imagined the Khans would go out."

"Nor I."

"Are you here to deal?"

He nodded.

"Fine, let's deal."

* * *

><p>"You could have told me we were going to be a fight!"<p>

"I didn't know! She said delivering the meds, running errands, and scouting!" Melina was extra glad she had whiskey in her because the sight of the Legion running towards them was a terrifying sight. This wasn't even the first attack, or the second, this was the third damn attack and she was surprised as shit she was still alive. "John!"

He turned, aimed, and a moment later the Legionnaire was on the ground with a bullet hole clean through his skull. He was perched on top of one of the wooden stalls that was used during the day to hand out rations, sniper rifle at the ready. "You okay?" He called down, vaguely aware of the few remaining NCR soldiers swarming around. These men were all green, hardly able to be called men, they were boys, fresh out of 'training'. It was damn clear the NCR hadn't considered Bittersprings viable because they hadn't even stationed the bare minimum of soldiers needed to hold it if attacked. They had left behind barely a handful.

"South entrance!" He roared, struggling to make himself heard over the ruckus. "Half of you get going!" These idiots were so green they were taking orders from him, of all people. He doubted they knew who he was, and he was going to pound the hell out of River for this. "Melina!"

"Shut up, I'm busy!" She growled, darting away from the booth, drawing her hunting knife as her shotgun was now out of ammo.

"Melina!" She was insane! She was not going to fight in hand to hand with these bastards, she wouldn't stand a- John could only stare dumbly when she let out a war whoop and slashed a throat, blood spraying her face. "Okay, never mind…"

* * *

><p>"Don't you hurt my grandbaby!"<p>

Mark had barely glimpsed his wife before picking her up, and the way she had struggled against him told him more than the visible damage. She was terrified of him, and she couldn't see him, not with those eyes. But she had _heard_ him, she had heard him and thought he was someone else. Someone who was going to die. He barely registered what the Nightkin said, trying to get Faith to calm down enough so he could see the extent of her injuries. "Darlin', it's-"

"Mark!"

He turned in time to see a sword coming at him. Not a traditional sword, but one cobbled together out of parts. He was guessing there was a piece of an old Enclave Vertibird in the mix because he spotted an emblem that looked familiar. He ducked the swing, drawing his sawed off. "Knock it off or I'll put you down, bitch." He cautioned, struggling to keep Faith upright. "Someone take her."

Kane was there almost instantly, easing the flailing woman into his arms carefully. His eyes widened under his mask as he took in the damage. "She needs medical attention right now."

Shawn was already on his way over, glad he had toted along his medic bag. It wasn't as good as his old office back in Goodsprings, and nowhere near the resources he had in New Vegas, but it would do in a pinch. "Faith, it's Shawn, I need you to-" He flinched when he almost took a bare foot to the face. "Hold her tight, I'm going to sedate her." He was already kneeling, drawing the syringe and a vial from the bag.

"Goddamn it! Stop or I'll shoot your head off!" Mark had had enough, battling the nightkin. Usually, his experience with mutants involved killing them outright. This one had information about what had happened to his wife, and he hadn't missed some of the minor details. Like the fact that when they had entered the 'camp site', the Nightkin had been tending to Faith.

"You're not going to touch my Faithy again! Leo says we can kill you!"

Jeff had taken Kane's spot, allowing the ghoul to go help calm down the enraged mutant/grandmother. He was sitting on the cold forest floor, his legs outstretched, holding Faith. Her back was to his chest, her head lolling on his shoulder and her legs stretched out before his. Even from this position, he could see the bruises and injuries that had been inflicted on her. He could also see medical grade suture in some areas and other signs that she had been treated by a professional, he wagered he knew who had tended her.

"Faith, are you awake?" He whispered in her ear, loud for a whisper, but not wishing to startle her.

Her head slowly moved.

"Shawn is going to have a look at you. Do you remember Shawn?"

Another slow nod.

"Kane's here. So is Mark. That's Mark, not the other one. Do you understand?" He felt her tense at her husband's name, or maybe it was the 'other one' part, but she nodded again. "How do we get the Nightkin to stop?"

"Grammie?"

Jeff hid the shock he felt when Faith actually spoke. It wasn't overly loud, and she sounded like she had been choked to death and then some, but it was enough to get everyone's attention. He could feel her shaking against him and craned his head in order to try looking at her.

Lily stopped trying to part Mark's head from his neck and instantly turned towards the group on the ground, surveying the scene. The rational part of her mind assessed the situation and realized there was no danger present. Grunting, she swung back to the man she was moments ago trying to kill and eyeballed him through her sunglasses. "You're not the bad man." She finally spat out.

"No, I'm not." Mark said dryly.

"Brother?"

He nodded.

She grunted again before going to squat by Faith, reaching out and taking –with surprising tenderness, mutants weren't known for being gentle- her hand. "Grammie is here Faithy, you let the nice man fix you up, dearie."

Mark could only watch. Faith was obviously drugged, and he could make out tears on her damn near unrecognizable face. He had done his fair share of fucked up things, but this… his _brother_ had done this, had been doing this, and he had probably kept her alive just for his amusement because he was twisted on a level even Mark couldn't understand. She had taken some serious beatings in her time but this… this was wrong.

This was the damn Savior of the Wasteland, Hero of the East, the Lone fucking Wanderer, and here she had been reduced to a literally broken, bloodied and bruised woman by one man. One dead man.

"Faith, darlin', he's going to pay for this." He whispered, crouching down opposite of the nightkin and reached out towards her. He didn't think she could see him, her eyes were so swollen he doubted she could see anything, but when he touched her… his heart broke at her reaction.

She was afraid of him. Of _him. _

Luke was going to die a slow and brutal death.

* * *

><p>Henry and his ghoul were going to regret this. The Undertaker was not overly pleased when he returned 'home' to find his play toy hadn't just been patched up, she had been patched up and carted off. Carted off by that purple, schizo bitch of a mutie. He had knocked Henry out and thrown Calamity through a cabinet of hopefully sharp and pointy things before taking off. He had to get her back before she was taken back down to New Vegas.<p>

He had tracked them through the woods and nearly killed himself trying to keep pace. He had gotten a really nasty sting from a Cazador that he had stopped to treat before paralysis set in, that had cost him time. Apparently, the Nightkin was making regular stops though, that helped him catch up, though not in time to beat his brother to the punch.

He watched from a distance, venomous green eyes narrowed as the group of men –and Lily- clustered around his toy. He had broken her alright, inside and out, and eventually brother dear would find out, but he wasn't done with her just yet. He hadn't finished breaking the little bitch who had dared to laugh in his face.

He took the time to survey his twin, taking in the changes. Had it really been twenty years and then some since they had parted ways? He knew Mark hadn't taken the route of a saint, rumors had reached him, but… compared to him, Mark was a little do-gooder who had married the biggest do-gooder of all time.

He moved closer, wanting to hear what they were discussing.

"Vegas is close, but someone needs to get to Katy and let her know what's going on. She's going to want him put down ASAP."

That would be the good doctor, he smirked, remembering the one and only time they had met.

"I'm the only one putting him down. He's my twin, my problem, and it was my wife he-"

"Beat and raped."

He had no idea who the little man holding Faith was, but he sounded cold and dispassionate. 'Taker approved.

"He… hurt Katy. Not this bad, but still… she's looking for blood."

"Who the fuck is Katy?" that would be Mark.

"You know her as River, or the Courier. She's at Red Rock Canyon, trying to get the Khans to side with her… she should be heading back to Vegas or still there… We can try to meet up with her on the road, but I'd advise getting Faith to an Auto-Doc immediately."

He was already walking away. Red Rock Canyon, huh? It'd been awhile since he'd seen River.


	24. Stories of the East

**24: Stories of the East**

"Tell us about the east."

Mark shifted slightly, his eyes never leaving the fire. He had wanted to head back to New Vegas immediately, get Faith into an Auto-Doc, but Shawn and Jeff had mutually agreed that she shouldn't be moved right away. They had tended her as best they could, gave her Stimpaks, and a healthy dose of Med-X, Faith would have loved that one. She was firmly against using drugs except in the most extreme of situations. But… the Med-X would ensure she didn't feel jackshit for a few hours, allowing her to sleep comfortably.

They had set up camp in that spot, he had built the fire Lily had made back up, Shawn had gone off scavenging for something other than their dried rations and come back with what might have once been a squirrel, or a rabbit, or possibly a combination of the two.

Faith was sleeping on a bedroll, her head resting on the Nightkin's giant purple leg, Kane wasn't too far away, while Shawn and Jeff were positioned opposite each other around the fire, finishing off their portions of dinner. Nobody had put down their weapons, save for Lily, though her Vertisword was within reach. He kept his eyes on the pair, watching as Lily gently finger combed Faith's hair, those impossibly large fingers somehow managing to be delicate in their work. Just when he thought he had seen and heard everything… the world threw him a surprise.

"Well… it's got less green." He said finally, aware that Shawn and Jeff were both staring at him, waiting for him to speak. "Not as hot though."

Shawn snorted, and bent his head to hide a smile.

"What about local government?" Jeff was more interested in the landscape of politics, made sense, he was a Follower, and local policies would dictate how people fared in their day to day lives when they weren't sweating raiders, radiation, or beasts.

A few years ago, Mark would have shot back with 'what government?', the Wasteland had been ruled by the Enclave in some areas, Brotherhood in others, and local settlements generally ran their own day to day affairs. "Mm… Brotherhood and Faith set up shop, but it's not like… it's not like NCR, or House… The brother distributes the fresh water to the locals and the towns, and provides protection, especially along the trading routes. Faith has it set up with all the settlements, she's the go-between for Brotherhood and the citizens."

"I was under the impression the Brotherhood didn't give a rat's ass about civilians." Jeff said dryly, knowing dam well the Brotherhood of Steel only cared about one thing: technology.

"They don't, or didn't. But I always got the impression that the east branch of the BoS had uh… parted ways with the rest of them." Mark shrugged his massive shoulders. "Elder Lyons is a giant softie, and when you added Faith to the mix… they both have savior complexes."

* * *

><p><strong>Capital Wasteland –Few Years Ago<strong>

"This is not why we're here."

"Oh shut the hell up Rothchilld." Faith was more amused than the Brotherhood elder was, and didn't bother hiding her mirth.

"This is why we have to deal with the Outcasts."

Faith knew the Outcasts were a splintered faction of the D.C. branch of the Brotherhood, she had encountered them a time of two in her travels. "No, you have the Outcasts because the Brotherhood was founded on stupid ideals that some equally stupid people took to heart."

Scribe Rothchild glared at her, finally huffing. "Elder Lyons… he approves of this, so I will… allow it." He said slowly, reluctantly. "The only reason you even have a say _outsider_ is because of what you've done, you know this, yes?"

"Jackass, I've done more than the majority of your Paladins." Faith said, sounding arrogant as hell but she didn't care, it was true. She would never say the Brotherhood didn't have balls, but she was willing to bet caps that she had seen and done more than all of them combined, minus Lyons. "I don't go around bragging about my credentials, but don't you ever forget them either."

Rothchild rolled his eyes. "Yes, yes…"

She punched him.

Mark began laughing from his spot leaning against the computers, shaking his head. Rothchild had been practically begging to have his ass kicked ever since Elder Lyons and the senior Paladins had agreed to Faith's suggestion. Once she had gotten back from the Enclave base and her near death experience at Austin's hands, and back on her feet, she had begun helping in dispersing the water throughout the Wasteland, the fresh, rad free water.

After a few months of that, they had retreated to Megaton where she had gotten busy with the Sheriff and Walter, discussing Lord knew what. From there, it had been too Little Lamplighter, where she had surprised the hell out of those kids. He'd been a bit surprised too, when he realized she was bringing them back with her, effectively adopting a whole passel of brats.

Because he was married to the bitch, he had become a daddy figure. Jesus H. Christ was that awkward as hell.

She had brought the ragamuffs back to the Citadel with her, where she informed Lyons she was moving in with her new, extended family. Lyons had agreed, and designated a ward for them and their… family.

Then she had broached the Elder about recruiting from the outside. Lyons had already been considering it. The Brotherhood numbers weren't rising, and with the purified water drawing already thin resources in terms of protecting the Memorial, delivering it, and all that other fun stuff… they were reaching the breaking point. Faith had cut a deal, on behalf of the Wasteland. Territories would come under Brotherhood protection in exchange for supplies and recruits. Recruits would be given an education, pay, leave for families if they had them, and the opportunity to help rebuild the Capital Wasteland.

Oh that idea had taken off once Faith had passed it along the settlements. Of course, some recruits were not suitable, they were just looking for an easy ride and quickly dismissed, but the ones who did make it through the extensive testing… well, Lyons was quite pleased.

Other members of the Brotherhood, not so much.

"Face it, without the new blood coming in, you guys were going to die out." Faith said, ignoring the fact that Rothchild was spitting out teeth. "This benefits everyone."

He glared at her as he scurried by, needing a medic.

Faith sighed, turning to stare at her husband, looking apologetic and amused when she seen he was trying not to laugh. "I can't help it, that asshole has always irritated me."

"Darlin'," He pushed away from the computers, walking over to wrap his arms around her. "You're doing a good thing, another good thing." He amended, ignoring her eye roll, she was going to get them stuck if she kept doing that. "You're getting a good deal for both the towns, the people in 'em, and the Brotherhood."

"Yeah, I know. I just wish other people could see that."

"They will, eventually. Besides, the real perk here is this: all them kids you adopted-"

"We."

"We… adopted, they'll grow up with a trade now, they won't have to rely on charity or some shitty town."

She grinned. "See, you do like them!"

He grunted. "Joseph calls me 'daddy' one more time and I can't vouch for his safety."

Joseph was the oldest of the bunch, a teenager, who liked to push Mark's buttons. At sixteen and a half, Joseph was smart as a whip but… He was adjusting better than some of the younger kids, in a way, but there were times… "He's just messing with you."

"Uh huh. You realize, he's going to wind up a Scribe, right?"

She shrugged. "So long as he's happy, being useful, and doesn't turn into a raider, I'm happy."

"Hey, I was a raider."

"Exactly my point."

* * *

><p><strong>Present<strong>

"You realize, she effectively turned the Brotherhood against its own ideals, right?" Jeff sounded admiring rather than annoyed.

"They still do the technology thing, but it's not their main goal anymore. Lyons is a good man, and he sees the long-term. Technology might last, but it ain't doing no good if there's no one around to appreciate it. He needs people for that, and the Wasteland has people."

Shawn shook himself out of the stupor he had fallen into, listening to Mark's story. "So is everything in the Wasteland under one banner then?"

"Uh no, we don't look at things like that, not like you guys do here." Mark was well aware of the warring factions within the Mojave. It was a giant clusterfuck. "People can opt out of the Brotherhood deal, and Faith still sees they are protected. It's a mutual trade of services, not a government or anything like that. The Enclave tried that shit, she tore it down."

"How many kids did she adopt?" Shawn was trying to picture Mark raising a group of children and failing at it.

"Thirteen. They were what was left of the kids in the caves. There's a story there, but she'd be better at telling it."

"Thirteen? In a cave? What the hell?"

Mark inhaled deeply, easily recalling each face and smiled slightly. "There's Joseph, the eldest. His sister, Penny. MacCready, a mouthy little shit who carries his own gun, can't be more then twelve. Billy, well, Biwwy, he has a speech problem. Princess, she's a snot. Bumble, she's the youngest, around seven or eight. There's Éclair, he thinks he's a chef. Knick Knack and Knock Knock, they're twins. Lucy, she's training now to be a medic with the Brotherhood, and she introduced them to a type of fungus that the kids used to fight off radiation. Uh… Zip, Squirrel, and… Sammy."

Shawn and Jeff could only stare at him.

"Basically, she's a do-gooder who is trying to get everyone to help out and better themselves." Jeff summed up finally, shaking his head. "She could have been a Follower."

"She's a leader."

Or had been, before his twin… now… now she might just be broken.


	25. Remembering the Divide

**25: Remembering the Divide**

Randy had accounted for this possibility. Some would say that there was no need, he was Caesar, he commanded legions, he was legendary. That was the problem: legendary. The Courier was legendary as well, her exploits as River Brooks were well known and the fact that she was now known as the only person to see Robert House since the Great War, well… when two legendary figures went against each other, it was best to leave nothing to chance.

So he had prepared for the event that Courier was somehow able to sway the Great Khans away from his offer. He had figured it was a slim chance on her part, Papa Khan had all but outright said yes, but his questions, comments… everything else had indicated the older man would acquiescence.

But somehow, Courier had talked the younger Khans into changing Papa's mind. Several had come forward with stories of deeds she had done, and the only one he gave credence to was her defusing of the Boulder City situation with the NCR. The rest, not so much, it was most likely the young bucks blowing smoke on behalf of a pretty woman.

He stood silently as Papa Khan expressed his most 'sincere' apologies over the ending of their talks, their possible merger, and Courier stood behind the older Khan. Her glittering blue eyes were cold and defiant. "If this is your decision." He said once Papa was done rambling, his own tone calm and cool, masking his anger.

"It is."

Nodding his head curtly, Randy turned, gesturing for Vulpes and his guard to fall in line.

Courier instantly raised her gun, preparing to blow Randy's head off and frowned when Murphy stopped her. "What the hell, man?"

"No, it wouldn't be right." He said softly.

"It'll save us all grief in the end."

"Probably, but still."

Cursing under her breath, she lowered her hand. This was going to come back and bite them all in the ass.

But… on the other hand…

"The Khans will join you when the time comes." Papa announced once the Legion members had disappeared from view, finally turning to face his new ally.

She had won this minor battle.

* * *

><p>"Do you remember the Divide?"<p>

Courier came to an abrupt stop, cocking her head to the side as she reached for her magnum. Not her first choice in guns, but it did a better job than a sawed off. "No. Should I?" Leaving the canyon in the dead of night had probably been a mistake on her part, but she figured leaving under cover of darkness and trying to sneak out was better than confronting the Legion head on if they were lingering. She hadn't counted on running into the Undertaker.

Considering his penchant for showing up when she least expected it, she should have.

"After you decided to throw me off the Dam and into the Colorado, I figured I'd lie low awhile. Recover from some new injuries and old wounds…" His voice was darker then the black night that surrounded them. "I went into… hiding, I guess you'd call it. Went to the Divide, tiny ass community, River. These people had no idea who the hell I was and you know something? For the first time in my life… I was… a good person."

Her heart was racing, and there was no stopping the snort that escaped her. "A good person? You?"

"For a while." He seemed amused by the concept as well. "I think I was the man you wanted me to be, or at least, I did a good job pretending to be."

"I wanted that man a very long time, long before the Dam."

"Hm."

She was slowly turning on the spot, trying to pinpoint where he was. "So why did you come back?"

His laughter was almost obscenely loud and made her feel like someone had just walked over her grave, sending chills throughout her. No matter how many fights she won, how many battles she had managed to live through, she would never forget that she was mortal and the one person who was very likely to kill her was this man.

"You, River. I came back because of you."

"Me?"

"You delivered a package, _courier_." He hissed, the laughter dying. "From Navarro."

Courier's eyes widened.

* * *

><p><strong>2278, The Divide<strong>

Technically, River Brooks no longer worked for the NCR. She wanted nothing to do with the New California Republic or their idiotic ways, especially after seeing her husband die the prior year. Fuck the NCR.

But she had run out of money and she wasn't quite ready to pull the trigger on herself yet. She figured she needed money, at least so she could afford her booze. Then she became a courier. Money, and danger, maybe she'd get lucky and something would come along and do the dirty work for her. Call her a coward but the one thing she couldn't do was pull the trigger on herself.

She worked for the Mojave Express, as courier number six, and the NCR had requested her specifically to run this package. She had hauled her ass to Navarro and then here, to this pin prick on no map. The problem with the Divide, was the fact that it was currently a miniature war zone, the Legion was trying to keep the NCR from annexing the prospering community.

Between the warring factions and the fact that the Divide was protected by Mother Nature on a radiation boost, dust storms that would flay your ass raw came to mind, getting inside the 'bowl' was fairly hard.

"What the hell is going on out there?" She demanded, shutting the door to the NCR HQ behind her and pulling off the scarves she had wrapped around her head.

"Sounds like the front is shelling out some serious artillery on the Legion."

"Not that, fuck them. I meant with the wind."

"Oh…" The private behind the counter grinned at her. "You mean the twisters and storms?"

River nodded, now brushing dirt and grit off her travelling leathers.

"Normal here. Not too many people make it though. You're lucky."

She snorted, dropping the package down before him. "Sure am. Log it, pay me."

* * *

><p>Of all the people to show up, it would be her. 'Taker watched through narrowed eyes as River Brooks disappeared into the bar, inwardly cursing out the man upstairs. He'd found this little slice of paradise a few years ago, after dragging himself out of the Colorado. It had been NCR and Legion free at the time, those two jackass groups had showed up recently and he'd been hoping against hope they'd kill each other and give it up. He liked this town and he even liked the people. Mostly because they didn't know who he was or care where he'd been.<p>

This place proved that even a man like him could find a place to start over. If that wasn't a miracle, then he didn't know what was. Of course, once the NCR had started coming around, he had had to lie low. His handsome mug was rather famous in the NCR parts of the Mojave and he wasn't about to get taken in for some damn bounty. He'd have to massacre the entire town if that happened. It was his name that most people knew of, the acts associated with the name. The NCR, however, they knew what he looked like, or at least most of them did. He'd really hate to be identified now, he would slay them all if it came to that.

Including the children and pet mole rats.

* * *

><p>He had gotten information about River, without resorting to physical violence. People here accepted him as someone eccentric but otherwise just another regular Joe. A giant regular Joe, but a Joe. She had left the NCR shortly after the battle at the Dam, even he had heard about that. The battle anyway, that had ended while he was en route out of the Mojave.<p>

He hadn't known about her husband dying. He hadn't known that she was the one who had ordered the destruction of Boulder City and anyone unfortunate enough to be trapped there. He hadn't known she had turned her back on everything she had ever stood for.

It was enough to almost make him sad. Perhaps, in a way, he was sad. The battle of Hoover Dam had changed River, something fundamental within her. Throughout all her battles, she had always bounced back, always found a reason to keep on going… he could clearly see she didn't have those reasons anymore.

So she had eventually taken a job as a courier, he bet it ground her ass to be running errands for the NCR. She had started out as a Desert Ranger, joining forces with the NCR hadn't been her choice but she had gone with it. Like a good little soldier. Maybe she hadn't been surprised at all with the way things had turned out.

Hell… she just needed to get out of his town. Now.

* * *

><p>"Luke, can I ask you a question?"<p>

It would always set his teeth on edge to hear his given name being used so casually by civilians but… introducing himself as the Undertaker wasn't conducive to a peaceful vacation. He let out a long breath and rolled onto his side, looking at his woman of the moment. A few long moments actually, he had been shacking up with Margie ever since coming to the Divide. Blonde hair, brown eyes, relatively submissive… opposite of River, which was what he had been looking for. "What?"

"Do you know what ICBM stands for?"

His eyes narrowed slightly, wondering where the hell that had come from. "Yeah, why?"

She was frowning, staring down at the log book. Technically, she wasn't supposed to bring work home with her, but… she did, a lot. It was just easier to handle the books and ledgers when she wasn't surrounded by idiot soldier boys. She wasn't NCR but that hadn't stopped them from recruiting her into their front office, especially once they found out she possessed decent clerical skills. "A package was dropped off today-"

His stomach began sinking.

"And they asked me to log it under the misc. files, but… I don't think it should be."

ICBM stood for Intercontinental ballistic missile, it was pre-war technology, part of the reason the world was in its current state. They were used in the delivery process when it came to nuclear warheads… and… The Divide had several untouched silos. He had never considered them a problem, not really, it would take a lot to detonate them. Usually.

"Margie, I got to go." He rolled out of the bed, reaching for his pants.

"Luke?"

"I'll see you in the morning."

* * *

><p>Sneaking into the NCR HQ wasn't hard to do. They had sent mostly green soldiers to run the place, and obviously they knew jackshit about security. 'Taker found the receipts room and began flipping through the various log books, finally finding the one for that held deliveries. Package delivered by Courier 6, Mojave Express, that was River. He flipped the page to the additional notes, the information added by whoever had accepted the package. ICBM, Navarro.<p>

"Son of a bitch…" He groaned, wondering if the NCR was really this incompetent. Navarro had been an Enclave base, hell, it was where his old man had met a very brutal and messy end. Anything there was probably dangerous, and if he was reading the margin notes correct, the NCR had noted a pre-war symbol on it, one that matched the symbols here in the Divide. They wanted to explore the connection and had had the package sent here. From HQ, it had been sent up to the facilities, near the silos.

He eyeballed the symbol, a crude sketch, and cursed again.

* * *

><p>River was having a hard time sleeping. She had tried putting herself into a coma via alcohol, but when the ground began shaking, that was over and she was giving herself an injection to sober up. The harsh contrast between nearly comatose and full blown sober made her heave everything in her system, not bothering with heading to the bathroom, she simply did it over the side of her shitty rented cot.<p>

She took a swig from the purified water she kept under her pillow and swished it around her mouth, spitting it in the pile of vomit before getting up. With her booted feet on the floor, she could feel the tremors. They were faint, but they were happening. She looked around the common room, noting nobody else was waking up, or those who were awake, weren't looking worried. Maybe this was common for the Divide…

River headed outside, already wrapping the scarves around her head, just in case. It was near daybreak, a faint line of color beginning to break through the darkness. She looked towards the facilities, taking a moment to process what she was seeing.

They were… crumbling. In on themselves. And…

"EXPLOSIONS!" She bellowed, everything in her alert and at the ready.

* * *

><p>Did he stay or did he go? 'Taker was royally pissed and divided. That bitch had brought a goddamn detonator to <em>his<em> town, and now… now he was watching it go up. The silos were going off, and if there were warheads in those silos… it was going to be a chain reaction that took the Divide out.

He looked around him, NCR were scrambling like the idiots they were. The Legion was around somewhere too he'd wager, but the civilians… that was the worst. These people had been building lives here, before NCR and Legion war touched them, and now… it was being violently taken from them. He watched, green eyes wide, as the largest building in the town, and at the very far edge of it, went down. It had been an apartment pre-war, and now the first few floors had been used for housing while the upper levels were slowly taken apart for supplies.

"That bitch!" He roared, suddenly enraged. What right did she have to do this? She was the good one, the protector of the innocent, and she was killing them! His town, his people, his life… she was destroying it all.

"Luke!"

He caught Margie when she came running to him, staring down into her panicked, pale face. "Run." He ordered, pushing her in the direction opposite the explosions. "Now!"

Nodding, she did.

Cursing himself for a fool, he went to try helping with the evacuations. Such as they were.

* * *

><p>It was like Boulder City all over again, only a larger scale and there were civilians. She had had Boulder evacuated long before setting the place to ruin. There had been no warning with this, and River knew –rationally- that she had done all she could. But rationality wasn't overriding the raw grief that was tearing through her.<p>

Once it became clear she could no more, she had seen to her own hide, knowing she would be able to outstrip the disaster if she went solo. Which she had. When she had reached the ledge to a passage that would lead her back into the Mojave, she stopped and turned around. What she saw brought her to her knees.


	26. Phoenix

**26: Phoenix**

"I thought you were dead, truly dead, for the longest time." 'Taker stepped out of the darkness, walking up to her. "I thought you died in the Divide, with everyone else."

Courier studied him, taking in his posture and then his hands. He wasn't carrying a weapon, but she knew he had them all over his body, strapped in holsters and whatnot. "No, I didn't…" She said softly, trying to erase the destruction from her mind, what she had seen. Losing her memories had included that, and since regaining herself, she hadn't thought once about the Divide, not once. It was one of those things she had locked away, and she didn't appreciate him dredging it back up. "Goodsprings, 'Taker, that's where I died."

"And like a Phoenix, here you are again, risen from the ashes."

"So, is this it then? Final showdown?"

"No, Riv, not now. Soon, but not tonight. I didn't spend all that time chasing your ass around the Mojave, or pulling you out of the Sierra Madre just to end it out by the Khans."

"The Divide."

He nodded.

This had to be the most solemn meeting between them ever. Even when she had threatened to paint the Mojave with his blood, it hadn't been this… final. "Why shouldn't I kill you now?" He may have wanted a dramatic ending between their decade long relationship, if it could be called that, but she wasn't having it. Her hand was up and she was more than ready to put a hole in his chest, one he wouldn't recover come. She thumbed the trigger, eyes narrowing. "You waited all this time to get revenge for the Divide? Because I may or may not have blown your home up? I'm sorry, how many lives have you ruined lately?"

"More then you'll ever know, River." He moved fast, catching her off-guard and disarmed her. 'Taker wrapped one massive arm around her throat, drawing her back to his chest and began ever so casually choking her. He traced the barrel of _her_ gun along the side of her head, and then back up to her hairline. "Lately, the life I've ruined was… Faith's."

Faith, the girl from the east, who had gone missing. Courier felt her stomach dropping out, just trying to wrap her mind around the implications of that meeting. "You have Faith?"

"Oh, so you do know her… do you know _of_ her though?"

"'Taker… you-"

"You do… so, you've met my brother then, eh? Jump his bones too?"

She didn't say anything, busy focusing on the path the gun barrel was making on her skin.

"Mm, I jumped hers." His mouth was right by her ear, his breath hot against her flesh. "And then I broke them…"

* * *

><p>"Commander, Doctor Michaels has returned. Along with Mr. Hardy and your guests."<p>

"My guests?" Courier was tired as hell as she approached the Freeside gates, wondering why Yes Man was just now talking to her. All things considered, she had expected to hear from him quite some time ago.

"From the east."

"Including the woman?"

"Yes, Commander. She is currently on the medical floor of the casino."

Medical floor? "We have a medical floor?" Her head was throbbing and she mentally counted how many days she had been gone. Not long enough for a med bay to be put in, that was for damn sure.

"Yes. Doctor Michaels and Mr. Hardy had it done while they were away. The Followers and Chairmen brought the supplies to your Securitrons. I oversaw the entire operation."

Well that explained why she hadn't heard from her A.I. He had been busy following someone else's orders. Actually, she found she didn't overly mind at the moment, considering she needed some medical treatment herself. "I'm on my way in. I'm going to need a wound tended."

"Commander?"

"It's nothing overly bad…" It was her back. 'Taker may not have wanted to throw down to the death but after he had confessed to brutalizing Faith, she had lost her mind and he had retaliated. She had been punched hard enough in the gut to knock the wind out of her sails for a while and he had pinned her face down to the desert ground, cut away her top leathers, and carved her back up. She had no idea if it were random carvings or if he had imparted a message, but… given who it was, she wouldn't be surprised to find NCR WHORE or something there. "I'll be there soon."

* * *

><p>Shawn met Courier the moment she stepped through the chip check gate, his tanned face looking a little more lined then the last time she had seen him. His eyes swept over her in a cursory check, noting the minor cuts on her face, the way she held her abdomen, and how she was hunching. "Back?"<p>

"Oh yeah…" She had bought a shirt off a caravan and was wearing it backwards, with only the bottom buttoned around her lower back. she was pretty sure the wind blowing dust and crap into her open wounds, and then the sun baking it there, hadn't done her any favors but…

Shawn slipped behind her while she walked towards the Lucky 38, inhaling sharply at what he saw. "Katy, honey, move faster."

She didn't bother. She highly doubted the infection was going to get worse within the next five minutes.

* * *

><p>Courier halted in the elevator, staring out onto the floor that used to be her bar. The Lucky 38 consisted of the casino, which was the main floor. Then there was the presidential suite, which is where her companions had made their homes, five bedrooms, accompanying bathrooms, a common room living room, a game room and a kitchen. Then there was her bar, or the cocktail lounge, which now looked like a fricking infirmary. The top floor was the penthouse, her home, and the 'war room'. It was also where the elevator to the core –now Mr. House's tomb- and then the basement beneath not only the foundations of the 38 but also parts of New Vegas. That housed her one part of her robot army. The other part of said army was directly beneath Caesar's feet. It always made her smile when she thought of activating that army… she could just imagine the Legion shitting themselves.<p>

She stepped out of the elevator and looked around, pleased to see that some of her bar did remain. About 1/3rd of it, but that was better then nothing. The rest of the lounge, which was a giant circle, with the elevator in the middle, had been set up as an infirmary. "When did I get an Auto-Doc?"

Jeff walked out from behind it, looking just as serious as ever, back in his white lab coat. His blonde hair was tied back at his neck, and he held a chart in his hand, a pen tucked behind his ear. "A few days ago, and just in time too."

"This is…" She walked towards it, frowning slightly. "Not typical tech…"

"Commander," Yes Man chirped, not from her wrist this time but from the intercoms installed throughout the casino. "This auto-doc was retrieved from a now abandoned vault. I had downloaded the schematics from the Mark IX and with the Follower's aid, we were able to upgrade this Mark III."

"Mark IX? The only place I have ever seen a Mark IX was the… oh… Sierra Madre." She still had nightmares about that place. "Clever, Yes Man."

"I live to please you, Commander."

She walked up to the giant, cylindrical machine and opened the viewing slot. "Is that?"

"Faith." Shawn was gathering supplies. "She's been in there since yesterday."

Courier took in the younger woman. Faith was covered by the clamps holding her up and she was unconscious. "How bad was she?"

"Pretty bad." Jeff closed the slot, looking grim. "All her superficial wounds have healed, it's working on her interior now. She should be up within the next twenty-four hours."

"Interior?" Courier allowed Shawn to guide her down on one of the medic cots, laying stomach down and tried to ignore him tending her already hot and throbbing back.

"Broken ribs, serious internal bleeding… other stuff." Jeff's eyes shifted from Courier to the Auto-Doc. "It was the Undertaker."

"I already know." She sighed, resting her head on her folded hands.

"How?" Shawn was preparing to pour some antiseptic and then scrub the hell out of her back. "Did he… is this his doing?"

"Yep. I ran into him on the road here." She didn't feel like going into anymore at the moment, glancing at him over her shoulder. "How bad is this going to hurt?"

Shawn nodded at Jeff who gestured around the curve of the room.

Courier's eyes narrowed at the sight of Mark, looking like he hadn't slept for shit. One major issue with these curved, circular rooms, she couldn't get a glimpse of everything in one sweep. He must have been sitting at what remained of the bar that she hadn't seen because there was a beer in his hand.

"He told you what he did to her?"

"He… insinuated…" She watched as he finished the beer and then set the bottle down, eyes going from slits to wide open as he approached her. "What are-" She growled when he bent down and gripped her shoulders, holding her flat.

That was when Shawn poured and Jeff scrubbed.


	27. Welcome Back, John

**27: Welcome Back, John**

Shawn would never understand Katy. After he and Jeff had tended her back –thanks to Mark holding her screaming ass down- and given her a healthy dose of Stimpaks and some Rad-Away, she had insisted on them pouring ink over the words 'Taker had carved in her.

She was sitting at the head of her war table, wearing one of his button up shirts backwards, with the back undone. Down her spine, you had to tilt your head sideways, was a… tattoo now. When she had been told what was carved in her back, she had fallen silent for awhile, then eventually asked for the ink.

So now, she had The Divide carved in her flesh and colored with black ink. It looked much better, just standard red and swelling. Now that she was back in the Lucky 38, he would be able to keep an eye on it and ward off the chance for infection.

"What's that mean?" He asked, sitting next to her, Jeff across the table from him and Mark down at the far end, browsing maps.

She smiled humorlessly. "It was a colony I destroyed."

"You… what?" Jeff gawked at her.

"I delivered a package for the NCR to the this community, the Divide, and it contained, apparently, a detonator." She reached with a surprisingly steady hand for her bottle of purified water, taking a sip. "Surrounding the town were old silos, with… dozens, if not more, of ICBMs."

"Did… did you know?" Shawn asked after a long, quiet, very awkward moment.

She shook her head.

"What's his connection to the place?" Mark asked, not bothering to look up.

"He was living there when it happened. We had… seen each other two years before… I threw him off the Dam. He survived and went there."

Mark raised his head at that, studying her thoughtfully. "How'd you even wind up knowing him?"

"That is a long story and I don't feel like telling it. Suffice to say, I know him and I really wish I didn't."

"You bitch."

All eyes turned to the elevator. Courier had honestly forgotten about sending John and Melina out and now she was remembering quite rapidly. She watched as he stalked towards her, seeing the rage flashing in his blue eyes and took in the worried look Melina wore. It was a sober worried look, that was… odd.

A second later she was gripping the table hard enough to turn her knuckles white and screaming.

John had circled on her, seen the wound, and slapped it as hard as he could with an open hand.

Everyone watched with slack jaws and wide eyes as Courier bent down until her head was pressed against the table, her face flushed and tears in her eyes. John stood there behind her and folded his arms over his chest, glaring at the back of her head.

"Welcome back, Cena." She muttered.

"You and me, we're going to have words, Brooks." He informed her.

"Duly noted."

* * *

><p>They had words all right. John was not someone to talk overly much, and any day he spoke more than five consecutive sentences was a good day for him. That or someone was pushing to have their head blown off. But he let loose on Courier, making sure she knew she was eventually going to regret sending him to Bitter Springs. Not today, or tomorrow, but someday…<p>

Once he had said his piece, it was back to business. He informed her of what had occurred at Bitter Springs and the state of the camp, which now housed refugees and a few green soldiers. He wasn't overly impressed with the way NCR was managing their people but he was even less impressed with Courier sticking her nose into his business.

He wouldn't admit it to her but returning had been… liberating in some jacked up way. His history was out in the open, what he had done… now common knowledge, and while defending the remaining people there hadn't wiped the slate clean, it helped.

Never telling her that.

"Well… Khans are going to side with us when the time comes." She informed him once a suitable stretch of silence had passed, stretching out in her chair. Everyone else had gone their separate ways. Jeff returned to Mormon Fort to attend his own affairs, Shawn had taken off for the Vault for something, Mark had gone back to check on his wife, and Melina was probably using up all the hot water. Again.

"So… Boomers, Khans, Securitrons… think that's enough?"

Considering once the NCR found out what she was up too? Probably not. "Nope. I want to check in with the Brotherhood of Steel, providing we can find them."

"The Bro- are you out of your mind?" John rubbed his temples when she merely stared at him. Of course she was. "They haven't been seen since the incident at Helios."

"I know that."

"What makes you think you'll be able to talk to them? Providing you can even find them."

"John… we know the location of the Sierra Madre… all that old world tech, just waiting to be found…"

"Uh huh…"

"Don't think it'd work?"

"I think they'd try to storm the gates of New Vegas afterwards."

"Valid point." She steepled her fingers, actually looking amused. "I think though, they'd have a hard time getting out of the Sierra Madre." Lord knew they had only made it by sheer luck. "I wouldn't mind going back myself… with the proper crew, and no explosive collars."

"The gold?" John would admit it, he had been taken in by the sight. There had been so much of it, all neatly stacked… it had been alluring and only after fantasizing about what they could do with it had they both come to their senses. "It's long gone by now, Brooks. Probably buried under what's left of the casino."

"The casino wasn't all gone." She reminded him.

"You're not serious."

"It's not the gold, John. It's the tech. Yes Man got the holograms and the Auto-Doc, but what about those vending machines? There was other tech there, we could use it."

"Speaking of those holograms…"

"I'm working on it, but I don't know where I would put them without scaring people. Ideally, the Dam would be best."

"We have to clear it off first."

"Yes Man, do we range for that?"

"Not at the moment, no."

"Could we?"

"Possibly, Commander."

She grinned. "We just hide or camouflage whatever runs them and instant manpower."

"What about the Securitrons?"

"I like them, especially after the next round of upgrades, but they could still be taken down. Holograms, not so much."

"Commander, Faith is awake."

John and Courier both pushed away from the table.


	28. Love is Not Enough

**28: Love is Not Enough**

"What the hell is that thing doing in my casino?"

John automatically pulled his knife. Since Courier had taken over the Lucky 38, he had stopped carting his sniper everywhere with him when he was inside. That didn't mean he went without a weapon though. He assessed the scene. Faith was sitting on one of the cots Mark was behind her, the ghoul bodyguard –he forgot its name- was nearby, and crouched at the end of the bed was a purple Nightkin in a huge sunhat and even larger shawl. "Courier…"

She had done some assessing of her own and finally just nodded. "Who is this?" Her tone was cool and flat.

"This is Lily." Faith said after a moment, sounding very quiet.

Mark and Kane were staring at her.

"I'm her Grammie. I saved her from the bad man." Lily growled, eyeing the pair through her sunglasses. "Are you bad? Leo says I can hurt bad people."

"They're not bad, Grammie." Faith soothed, reaching out to place a hand on the Nightkin's shoulder. "This is… Courier, and John Cena. They're soldiers."

Lily nodded, settling back down in her crouched position.

Courier noted that Faith was looking anywhere but at her husband and felt sympathy for the girl. Nothing like having a constant reminder of the man who had brutalized you in every way nearby. Of course, it was probably hard on Mark as well, she could admit that.

She had issues whenever she looked at him, just because of the near identical thing, but the issues were always fleeting. She had always known what kind of man the Undertaker was, and while she wouldn't trivialize what he had done to her, she had somehow always expected it to happen one day or another.

"Everything patched up?" She asked, aiming for what she was hoping to be a kind tone of voice, knowing she had been… a bitch, the first time around with Faith.

"Better then new actually." Faith smiled slightly. "I was a hot mess when they brought me in… you can't even tell I was…"

"Dyin'." Mark grunted, hesitantly reaching out to place his hand on her shoulder.

Faith tensed.

He noticed, but didn't pull away.

After a few moments, she relaxed, somewhat, her smile becoming strained.

* * *

><p>Given everything that had happened, and the fact that she needed some downtime to heal and rethink some things on her agenda, Courier gave everyone 'time off', stipulating they all needed to return to the Lucky 38 at the end of three weeks. She figured by then, she'd have some idea of where to start looking for the Brotherhood.<p>

It occurred to her, that Faith may have that information, but… it just seemed wrong, asking the kid to help out in a fight that wasn't hers. That and Faith seemed to be having mental issues. Physically, she was fine. Shawn had told her about how they had found Faith, the condition she had been in, and Courier felt Faith was damn lucky for that Auto-Doc. It was the mental issues Courier was concerned about.

Wherever Faith went, which was only in the casino, that Nightkin followed her. Mark seemed lost and had taken to prowling Freeside and outside the walls with Kane, probably searching for signs of his twin. Faith seemed to take to Jeff, which was odder then hell, but he seemed to be taken with her as well.

Though… it also made sense. Jeff wasn't offering sympathy, which Shawn did. Courier was too busy to spend much time with the other woman. Melina didn't seem to know what to say and steered clear of the girl.

Speaking of… "Hey kid."

Faith was curled up in a chair of the common room in the presidential suite, reading one of the few pre-war books that Courier had collected. "Hey." She slowly tore her eyes from the pages and looked up, offering a half smile.

Courier looked around. "Where's Lily?"

"She stepped outside, she needed some air. She's not used to being inside all the time."

"I see you have a new Pipboy." She crouched down so she was a little lower then Faith, studying the computer on her arm. She knew Faith's Pipboy had been destroyed by the Undertaker.

"Shawn got it for me." Faith put down the book to examine her new Pipboy. "From the Vault here in Vegas. He uh, had Yes Man, retrieve what he could from what was left of mine…"

Courier gathered that might have been some important stuff. "Mind me asking, like what?"

Faith hit a button.

"…_was safe, and that's all I could have hoped for."_

Courier listened as a soothing; intelligent male voice filled the room.

"_Now, my daughter is a grown woman. Beautiful, intelligent, confident. Just like her mother. And as hard as it was to admit it, she doesn't need her daddy anymore."_

"Your father?" Courier blinked in surprise once the audio log was done, staring into Faith's eyes curiously. She felt awkward when she realized there were tears in those mud brown eyes.

"Yes. The audio files… Yes Man had a hard time retrieving them, but I'm grateful for what he got. This is… really all I have left of my dad."

"What happened to him?"

"He… died, radiation. It's a long story."

"Maybe… you'll tell it to me?"

"Not today, but eventually." Faith's smile grew a little more warm, more genuine. "If you'll tell me yours."

"We'll need a couple days then, that's a long story too."

* * *

><p>"I'm going to go with Jeff."<p>

Mark had been expecting some sort of announcement from his wife. She had been virtually quiet for days. She had taken to sleeping in the common room on a couch, Lily always nearby, and while it hurt him, he knew why. He knew why she was avoiding him, or at least avoiding being alone with him, and rationally, he understood. Irrationally, he wanted to shake her until she came to her senses. He was not Luke, he wouldn't hurt her damn it.

However… he had refrained. The announcement he had been expecting was something along the lines of leaving him, or a divorce. Not going off with Jeff. "Why?"

"He's got some work at the Mormon Fort and I'm going to help him." Faith knew how trying this time was for her husband. She loved him, Heavens knew she did, but sometimes love was not enough and she needed to find a way to deal with what had happened to her. To come to terms with it and move on. She couldn't do that here, and she wasn't about to open up to Dr. Michaels, not when he was hopping in bed with Courier.

Faith actually… liked Courier, as odd as that sounded. She admired the older woman now that she had sort of gotten to know her a bit better. She expected there were things about Courier she probably wouldn't have agreed with but… whatever.

She liked Jeff better. He got her. He understood the need to work out issues. He understood that she wasn't looking to spill her guts or talk about what had happened to her. Jeff also seemed to have his own baggage. She could relate.

"You don't think you can work this out with me?" He asked quietly.

"No, Mark, I don't think I can. I just need to be away from you for a bit, get back to helping others and see if I can't help myself in the process."

"You know I'm not him, Faith."

"I know, but that doesn't stop me from feeling the way I do." Faith was surprised at how calm she sounded, though she could feel her hands shaking. "I love you Mark, I just need some time."

He sighed, wanting to reach out and touch her but knowing she wouldn't allow it. "If this is what you think you have to do…"

She nodded.


	29. Don't Tread on the Bear

**29: Don't Tread on the Bear**

"I have to meet with the NCR."

Shawn was used to Katy saying random things while they were in bed, that didn't mean he was always able to catch on to what she was saying or see where she was heading. "Whuh?" He raised his head off the pillow in order to look at her. She was laying on her back, hands folded behind her bed.

She grinned at the ceiling, amused by his sleepy drawl, and rolled onto her side, propping her head in her hand, elbow on the pillow. "Ambassador Crocker," She snorted. "Has requested my presence."

"NCR guy? Down at the ass-end of the Strip?"

"At the Embassy, near the Vault."

Shawn considered that, reaching out a hand to skim his fingers along her bare side. "You know him?"

"Yes, I know him."

"Do you know why he wants to see you?"

"Probably for nothing good. Dennis is a good man but… he's a pacifist. He doesn't want the fighting, he thinks New Vegas, and the rest of the Mojave should fall in line and be annexed peacefully."

"Why?"

"Because he's NCR through and through."

"When will you go see him?"

She considered that, shrugging one shoulder after a moment. "No idea. Probably soonish, last I knew the NCR was keeping me on their 'watch' list. They probably want me to re-enlist or some bullshit."

Shawn could see that one going over well and snorted, returning her amused smile. "I'm going back to Goodsprings for a week or so. Julie is letting me take one of the Followers with me, going to set him up in my old house."

She cocked an eyebrow.

"They have no doctor there." He reminded her gently. He had been the doctor for Goodsprings, and nearby areas, for quite some time but left it all behind to come with her. He felt obligated to find a replacement, at least until he could return, if ever. "They need one."

A flash of sadness flickered through her eyes, maybe even some guilt or remorse. "I really did hijack your life, didn't I, Shawn?"

"A little bit."

* * *

><p>Faith threw herself into the work Julie Farkas gave her. It wasn't pleasant work, but it was work. When Julie had discovered that Faith wasn't just a gunslinger, but had a fairly decent background in medicine and science, she had smiled. For Julie, that was the equivalent of jumping for joy.<p>

Currently, she was making rounds of the three tents she was working for the day. One tent contained some poor hung over bastards who would be given water and bread and sent on their merry way. The second tent housed some addicts in recovery, which looked like a painful process. The third was rather a sad. Two men had been beaten, an older man and a young man. It was the older man who was awake, looking like he wasn't feeling all that well and Faith didn't blame him. He still looked like shit. His young companion was still unconscious, and had been for a few days from what Julie had said.

"Is he going to wake up soon?"

Faith was kneeling on the ground, besides the pallet the unconscious man was on. She glanced at his friend, her brow furrowing. "I don't know. His body is recovering… Mr.?"

"Roy, just call me Roy." He leaned back against one of the support poles, closing his eyes.

"Can you tell me what happened, Roy?" She asked quietly. "It might help me diagnose what all is wrong with him."

"We got beat down, missy." He snorted, not opening his eyes. "A blind man could see that."

"With weapons?"

"Batons, fists… boots."

Faith considered that. Batons and boots, not many people in Freeside wore shoes at all. Batons… well, anything that could be used as a club was popular, if the residents couldn't get their hands on knives or guns. "Do you know who attacked you?"

At that, he opened his eyes and fixed her with a look. "Nope."

He was lying.

* * *

><p>"River."<p>

"Dennis." Courier was going to eventually have to settle on a name. Being referred to as River, Katy, and Courier was beginning to become tedious and occasionally confusing. She shook the Ambassador's hand and sank down into the seat opposite his desk when he gestured to it.

Crocker dropped back down into his own chair, studying her thoughtfully. "It's been awhile."

"Mmm." The last time she remembered seeing him was when she had come to turn in her resignation and collect her final pay. She had been to the Embassy since, recently in fact, when she had checked on John's NCR record, but she hadn't dealt with anyone but the receptionist. "I'm guessing you didn't ask me here for a social visit."

"No… no." He shook his head, smiling slightly. "Business, of course."

"What kind?"

"NCR."

She frowned at him.

"Now, I know you parted ways with us on… difficult terms." He was trying to be diplomatic, knowing damn well Brooks had left the NCR with a major chip on her shoulder. "But we could use you back."

"Hmm." Just what she wanted… to go back to work for the NCR. "Why?"

"Because we need capable officers, and someone who can get things done. Also, you've made contact with Robert House, you're working for him, aren't you?"

"On occasion." Which was a lie. She worked for herself, House was dead. "You want me for my connection to House. He won't treat with you, will he?"

"No, and that's a shame because he could help out. If we could reach some sort of compromise…"

"You want House to let the NCR annex New Vegas."

"Ideally." He knew better then to deny it, she knew how things worked. "The mutual benefits to both-"

"No." Courier stood up, glaring down at him. "Not going to happen, Dennis. House doesn't want any part of the NCR." By House, she meant her. She had seen how well the NCR handled annexing new locations, and what happened to the people. The NCR didn't even give a crap about the people of the New Vegas and the Mojave, they just wanted the benefits and resources it offered.

"River… we've been keeping an eye on you, we know you're up to something." Crocker's tone was now warning, though he kept the smile on his face. "If you continue working with House… and he refuses to cooperate with us in these trying times… you're going to be branded a hostile."

"What?"

"Don't tread on the bear."

* * *

><p>"This is pointless work."<p>

Faith leaned forward to look over Jeff's shoulder. "Are we making tequila?" She asked, eyeballing the agave plant he was arranging in a dish.

"No…" He procured a lighter and set it on fire, snorting when she shook her head. "If agave had any medicinal properties besides as liquor, it would have been discovered a long time ago. I don't understand why they have me wasting my time on this."

"Maybe because you're antisocial, they don't want to put you in social settings."

Jeff considered that, finally nodding. "Probably." He tossed the agave into a nearby bin and turned to face her. "How'd your day go?"

Taking a deep breath, Faith told him.


	30. With the King

**30: With the King**

"_You ain't nothin' but a hound dog! Cryin' all the time!"_

"Jeff, what the Hell?" Faith hadn't been overly keen on a night time excursion to the Kings but he had insisted. They had been permitted into the building and instantly been blasted by the music coming from the other room. She glanced behind her at Lily who was looking around curiously. "You okay?"

"I'm fine dearie, though that man is ruining the song!"

Faith had no idea what the song was, but she agreed. Whoever was singing, couldn't sing a note.

Jeff led the way to the back room, halting long enough to exchange words with one of the Kings guarding the door. Faith studied the young boy thoughtfully. His hair had been dyed black and was slicked back in a pompadour. She then remembered her first time in here, she had come out of curiousity, because a guy with black hair and a pompadour had tried charging her entrance to Freeside. She briefly remembered meeting the head honcho, who called himself, The King. Clever.

She felt Lily's massive hand come to rest on her shoulder and forced herself to relax as she followed Jeff into the massive room. There were tables and chairs everywhere, all of them filled, and a stage with working lights and a microphone. Too bad there was no accompanying music to drown out the sound of the man wailing away.

"Here. Wait here." Jeff ordered, gesturing towards the back wall before winding his way through the crowd.

She had no problem with that and leaned back, feeling Lily resting beside her. She was aware they were attracting attention, but so far, nobody got up or said anything. At least, nothing she could hear. She did notice, that the majority of the room was filled with men, of all ages. They all had black hair, be it natural or dyed, and it was all in relatively the same style. Cute.

Jeff came back as the kid on stage was walking off, and Faith glimpsed someone behind the curtain but turned her attention to her friend. "Are you going to tell me what this is about?"

"Nothing goes on in Freeside without the Kings knowing about, without the King knowing about it." He informed her, wincing when a loud cheer went up. "So I figured we'd come talk to him and see if he has any ideas. I already know you do." He looked at her meaningfully. They had already talked about the possibility that it had been some NCR boys behind the attacks, and both agreed it was highly likely.

"_Treat me like a fool. Treat me mean and cruel. But love me. Wring my faithful heart. Tear it all apart. But love me."_

The screaming this time around was very feminine and ear piercing. Scowling, Faith looked for the culprits, finding them near the stage and rolled her eyes. The three women there reminded her of Cherry and Fantasia back in the Wasteland. Hookers.

"This guy sounds like the real deal!" Lily said happily, clapping her large hands.

Jeff sighed, leaning back against the wall. "We'll have to wait until he's finished, apparently he decided to grace everyone with a show tonight." He appreciated music, more so when the King himself sang, but he just wasn't in the mood tonight.

"…_I would beg and steal. Just to feel your heart beatin' close to mine."_

Faith looked at the man singing, realizing it was the King, and he could play the guitar. She hadn't been overly concerned with him the last time she had been here. Mark had been shot by Courier, that had taken all precedence. Now… she had time and she realized, the man could really sing.

He was also very pleasing to look at. High cheekbones, the same hairstyle as the rest of the Kings, and beautiful blue eyes. He dressed different as well… wearing black slacks, clean dress shoes –and where had he found those in this hellhole?- and a blazer over a button up shirt. He was going to win for best dressed in Freeside.

Those were bedroom eyes. Gorgeous blue eyes surrounded by thick black lashes and they were fastened on her. She swallowed, creeping closer to Lily.

"_Well, if you ever go. Darling, I'll be oh so lonely. Beggin' on my knees, all I ask is please. Please love me."_

Jeff, Faith, and Lily all covered their ears when the shrieking started again.

Once it was over and the King had exited the stage, Jeff nudged Faith. "He's waving us over, let's go."

* * *

><p>"C'mon, we're going out."<p>

Mark had been going batshit crazy ever since Faith took off on her quest for healing. Kane had followed her, from a distance, to keep watch. Which left him trapped in this tower with only excursions to the hotels for distraction. He had made excursion, to the Gomorrah across the street, spent an hour there, and decided he'd best not remain too long.

Way too many whores. Even if Faith was having a hard time stomaching him, that didn't mean she'd take kindly to him eyeballing other women. Or vice versa.

So now he was sobering up after a few days' worth of a whiskey binge with the Courier looking as good as new in front of him. "What?"

"We're going out."

"Take your soldier."

"He's busy." She informed him. Which was true, Melina had gotten wind of another caravan down and wanted to go check it out. John had gone with her. Since Shawn had returned to Goodsprings for the time being, and Jeff was with Faith, that left her with the look-a-like. "You know what HELIOS One is?"

"Nope."

"It's a power plant, one they can't get to work."

"They?"

"NCR."

Mark tilted his head back, staring at her. "Why should I care?"

"You shouldn't. but I do, and I need someone to go with me. You need something to do. So gear up. We're leaving in an hour."

* * *

><p>The trip to HELIOS One was mostly silent. What did they have to say to each other? She had shot him. His twin was a murdering rapist. It was as they drew closer to the power plant that the silence seemed to become too much.<p>

"You have an ulterior motive for bein' here."

"Damn right I do." She shot him a sideways glance, wondering if he had the military mind his brother did. Not that 'Taker, or Luke, tended to let other's in on the fact that he wasn't an idiot.

"Would it have anything to do with those morons in black tailing us?"

He hadn't missed that and Courier felt a hint of grudging respect. "Those are NCR Rangers, the team they send to take out people. I'm on their shit list apparently."

"Hmm. Why?"

"Because I won't kiss NCR ass or play ball with them."

"Do I need to worry about a bullet through my skull?"

"Nope. I know team leader, we… were in co-command together. He'll talk to me first before it comes to that."

"So again, why are we here?"

"Because, the NCR wants it. What the NCR wants, I'm not inclined to let them have."

He started laughing. They were on a suicide mission.

* * *

><p>Faith wasn't uncomfortable, but she wasn't sure if she should be feeling relaxed either. It had been three nights since she had come to the Kings with Jeff and she hadn't left since. She and Jeff had told the King what they suspected and he had asked for a favor, one Jeff had accepted. Jeff had left that night, leaving Faith behind with only Lily.<p>

As if sensing she was feeling all out of sorts, the King had invited her to his table, where he then had a drink and a meal placed before her. He hadn't pressed her for conversation, just watched the 'show', occasionally gesturing for a refill for the both of them.

By the end of it, it was late enough that Faith had a feeling Lily was going to try carrying her back to the Fort. The King had given them a room on the third floor, across the hall from his.

Lily hadn't proclaimed him a bad man, not like she had when she had spotted Pacer, so that was enough for Faith. The Nightkin seemed to have some inner guide that informed her when someone wasn't trustworthy.

Faith had slept… and slept, and slept. When she finally woke up, there had been clean clothes waiting for her and Lily had opened the door to holler for food. It was weird, being waited on, and having her own personal mutant Grandmother.

Jeff had returned, not looking surprised that Faith was being put up as if this were a hotel, when it wasn't. He had informed the King of what he had found out and then left. That was yesterday.

"I don't understand." She said, after listening to the King, he had filled her in on the situation. They were sitting downstairs, in the back room, the big room, with the stage, sipping ice cold Nuka-Colas. Rex, his dog, lay at their feet.

"What don't you understand, sugar?" He didn't sound condescending, he sounded curious.

"These NCR squatters, I don't get them. I don't understand why they exist."

"How so?"

Faith sipped her cola, taking her time in thinking about how she wanted to word it. "The NCR expands and takes territory, and then takes the people under its banner, right? Well how come so many of their people are now homeless? What happened?"

"NCR overreached." He said flatly. "They took territories they couldn't hold. Now… their homeless come flocking here thinking they'll get a fresh start but… House don't let just anyone in. You gotta have caps, or a passport. So all them poor sons of bitches are left out in the cold, and think they can encroach here, on other people's homes."

"And because of overreaching, the NCR has no way to deal with the amount of refugees…" Faith finished, considering what she had seen when she, Mark, and Kane had been approaching the city. "I imagine those sharecropper farms aren't producing enough to feed everyone…"

"Considering that the bulk of it gets shipped off to feed them poor boys in the army, no."

She leaned back in her chair, wondering how massively stupid the NCR had to be. "What are you going to do?"

"I don't know yet, sugar. I've been trying to avoid a fight, they're better equipped then we are and there just ain't no sense in shedding blood. Especially when a lot of it would be innocent. Securitrons or not, the NCR might take a fight as a reason to try to wrestle Freeside from House." He pinched his nose and closed his eyes, sighing. "All this NCR garbage is giving me a headache."

"Do you think war will come to Freeside?"

"I think it already did."


	31. Take A Walk

**31: Take A Walk **

"Civilian, you should not be here."

"I'm here about fixing the power plant, the tower isn't working right."

"You must be looking for the idiot then."

"I sure am."

The soldier rolled her eyes, snorting. "You won't miss him. He's the idiot wearing sunglasses, indoors."

Considering John did the same thing… Courier hid a smile. "Yes, ma'am." She slipped through the sentries, Mark behind her. She had advised him to wear his hair pulled back and under a bandana, and to cover up as much as possible, not needing anyone mistaking him for his twin. Unfortunately, the people likely to recognize him were the ones they were surrounded by.

He followed her, his liquid movements and silence reminding her of 'Taker and she had to swallow down the bile that rose. She had to keep reminding herself that this was the good one.

"What's the story here?" He interrupted her musings.

"The Brotherhood of Steel was here before the NCR. HELIOS One was a pre-war installation, assumedly to be a power plant but… the Brotherhood wasn't going to waste their time with just a power plant, they don't need a plant. Thinking there was a weapon here, NCR initiated Operation Sunburst-"

He snorted.

She rolled her eyes. "To take the plant from the Brotherhood. Mind you, nobody had exclusive rights to the damn place but… NCR and Brotherhood, neither of them looking to give an inch."

"I'm guessing the NCR won."

"Oh yeah, and damaged the plant even more than it already was. Morons. Obviously, they haven't gotten it up and running yet. Probably never will."

"What happened to the Brotherhood?"

"I don't know… they retreated, they got beat pretty badly. Nobody's seen them since." She shot him a sideways glance as they climbed the relatively safe stars. "You guys, you're looking for them here, aren't you?"

"It's on the agenda."

"Know where they are?"

"I don't. Faith does." He grinned at her. "Good luck getting her to tell you."

Well son of a bitch.

* * *

><p><strong>"What<strong> on earth…"

"I told you, sugar, more hair gel then you could shake a stick at."

Faith grinned, taking in all the tins of hair gel. The King was giving her the 'tour' outside of his bedroom and the lower level. He had shown her the rooms where they found all their 'costumes' as he called it. Old movie posters still intact thanks to their glass frames, costumes… some preserved some molded and needing thrown out. Props, guitar cases, and she wondered if there were guitars in them. "Lily, do you know who this man was?" She asked, turning to the Nightkin who had been trailing behind them, taking everything in with interest.

"Sure do, honey, that there's the King." Lily said, eyeballing one of the posters. "He's right there." She pointed at the man besides Faith.

Faith sighed, wondering if there was any way to recover all of Lily's memories. She had some of her grandchildren, more apparent on days she tried to skip taking her medicine, but that was about it. Fawkes had retained nothing besides his sanity. She was going to have to talk to Madison Li when she returned to the Wasteland. "Thank you."

The King was hiding a smile, extending his arm to her. "How about we go take a walk?"

"Outside?"

"Believe it or not, I sometimes do that, honey."

Hesitantly, she slid her arm through his.

* * *

><p><strong>"They<strong> asked me how well I understood theoretical physics. I told them I had a theoretical degree in physics. They said 'welcome aboard'."

Even Mark, who did not speak egghead, was able to understand all that. Complete bullshit. This idiot in sunglasses –who called himself Fantastic, really- had bullshitted the NCR. "I thought these people would be smarter." He said out of the corner of his mouth.

Courier shook her head, appearing somewhat amused. "You would think." She walked past Fantastic, gathering he was going to be no help at all. The moment they rounded the corner, she had to stop before plowing into another guy.

"Hi."

"Hi. Who are you?"

He smiled nervously. "Ignacio Rivas. You?"

"Courier."

The nervousness was gone and he seemed to brighten. "I know of you. Please, tell me you're not here to help the NCR."

"I am not here to help the NCR. They want the power going to McArran and the Strip, Fantastic said."

"They do. But who does that help? The power will be sent to NCR controlled territory and the Strip already has enough juice. There are other people who need that power much more."

"I love you Followers. If only I could fill the Mojave with you people… it'd make my job a helluva lot easier." Courier sighed wistfully. "Suggestions?"

"Westside, Freeside, and Fremont."

"Sounds doable."

Mark could only stare at Courier, finally groaning when she looked at him. "You're a do-gooder just like she is."

She considered that, finally shrugging. "No, not so much a 'do-gooder' as Faith. I have no problem in being selfish and putting my sweet ass first. But I won't sit around and watch an entire region full of good people get trampled on either."

"Like I said, do-gooder."

* * *

><p><strong>Faith's<strong> exploration of Freeside prior to now had been pretty limited. She, for the most part, had stuck to the main road. With the King as a tour guide, she was seeing areas she had overlooked before, and it was not that pretty a picture. There were squatters everywhere, and she remembered what King had said in regards to people losing their homes and fleeing here.

He had led her through the rubble, picking a path out of what she would have disregarded as ruin, and through a door that had led to a new portion of Freeside. Or perhaps just a walled off portion. Old rail road tracks ran through this area, and she spotted a guard tower not too far off. There were soldiers patrolling and she could see the now familiar NCR two-headed bear patch on most uniforms. "I'm guessing this part of Freeside has been taken over?"

"I reckon so." His arm was still linked through hers, though his blue eyes were scanning the area. "I haven't been this way in quite some time. Now… there's a soup kitchen around these parts somewhere, I think that'd be a good place for you to start."

"To start what?"

"Asking questions."

Finding the soup kitchen was easy, getting in was not. Faith had no idea what the 'password' was, she didn't know NCR history, and if not for the King intervening, she doubted they would have gotten in the doors. People seemed to recognize him, soldiers and squatters alike, and from the looks he was receiving, she wondered if maybe him coming out was a good idea.

Lily tagging along quietly behind them probably wasn't a good idea. Some were running at the sight of her, others looked like they were contemplating attacking her. Her running commentary didn't help with that, she didn't approve of the NCR. She also didn't approve of an apparent tag-a-long, one of the Kings, who was trailing them. Faith had recognized the idiot as Pacer, the guy who had tried charging her a tax and wound up pissing himself when Mark had retaliated.

Once inside, she squirmed uncomfortably as all eyes shifted to them.


	32. Young and Beautiful

**32: Young and Beautiful**

"Don't do shit the easy way, do you?"

Courier flashed Mark a grin over her shoulder as they scaled the tower that held the mainframe to the Helios power grid. NCR was a bunch of idiots and the Brotherhood had been too. Repairing Helios had consisted of readjusting the plant's solar panel arrays, which required them to venture to the terminals. Terminals that had been protected by guard dogs. Courier had had no idea how the NCR would react to the dogs being put down, so she and Mark had opted for knives instead of guns, going with the silent but somewhat deadlier approach. They both had been bitten.

After that, they had entered the tower. This might have been where both NCR and the Brotherhood had run into serious issues. Between turrets and armed bots, it was basically entering a death zone. Without Mark there to watch her back and draw fire, Courier seriously doubted she would have made it to the terminal, where she was able to shut down the turrets. Dealing with the bots had been easier when they weren't being fired upon from above.

Then they had to repair the generator to the mainframe. Mark had called her out on a very shitty repair job, it would only hold for a few months, at the most, and from what he knew, she was capable of doing better. Courier had, with more patience then she actually possessed, explained that she had neither time or equipment to do the proper repairs and would send some Followers out to do the necessary maintenance and upgrades once she had dealt with the NCR.

Now they were at the actual mainframe, on top of the tower, and he was enjoying the view while she fiddled with the controls.

"I do get why the Brotherhood wanted this place, and why they never bothered with the power." She said after a few moments.

"Hmm?"

"Helios has a weapon."

She had his attention.

"It looks like it performs orbital strikes… I wonder if the satellite even works…" She looked up into the sky, as if she would be able to see said satellite. "That kind of power…"

"Should not be in anyone's hands." He said flatly, remembering Faith and the Enclave's base, her last go round with Colonel Austin. If not for Faith, the eastern branch of the Brotherhood probably would be nothing but a giant crater right now.

"Agreed. So… let's ration out this power…"

* * *

><p>The situation in Freeside was worse than Faith had initially thought. It turned out that the NCR, or at least the woman who worked for them and ran the shelter, had tried sending an envoy to the King. That envoy had never reached the man, instead, he had stumbled his way back to the shelter, battered and bruised. According to what they had been told, by the King's own men.<p>

"No damn wonder we're at war…" King was pacing his bedroom floor, puffing angrily on a cigar. "Now which of my boys is the damn fool behind this…"

"Pacer." She said instantly, seated in the middle of his bed, a giant heart shaped atrocity, but it was comfortable.

"Pacer?" He stopped in order to stare at her, frowning. "Now, I know he can be a bit rough around the edges but Pacer's a good boy, we grew up together."

"It's Pacer."

"Why? What makes you so sure?"

Faith shrugged one shoulder, remembering the Freeside tax. How Pacer had followed them around today, the general feeling of unease she got when he was around. "Call it a hunch. He's vocal about his dislike of the NCR and the squatters, and he can be a bully."

"The hell you say!"

She ducked her head, hands flying up to protect herself when the whiskey bottle he had picked up went flying. She heard it shatter as it hit the wall.

* * *

><p>"Can't you read?"<p>

"Nope."

Sighing, Courier stuffed the book Ignacio had given her in her satchel. She had tried giving it to him but he had declined with a snort and a mutter about eggheads. "Why not? You learned I bet, being Enclave raised."

Mark shot her a warning look, eyes narrowing. "Anything I learned I forgot a long time ago. Never cared much for the book learning, there never was a point to it, not for me."

"So how the hell do you get around?"

"Good sense of direction and a damn fine memory." Even with all the drugs and booze he had ingested. "Look, my wife is smart enough for the both of us, I-" Mark trailed off, wondering just what Faith was up too. If she was ready for him to come home yet, or come home herself. "She's working with the Followers, right?"

"Hey, they're good people." Courier had no idea why she was reassuring him. She didn't overly like him. She didn't hate him, but she didn't like him. It had nothing to even do with him so much as his resemblance to 'Taker. Or maybe it did. "She'll be fine."

He grunted.

* * *

><p>"Now Lily, I've done apologized up and down to you but I can't apologize to Faith if you don't let me through the door."<p>

Lily eyed the King from her position out in the hallway, her massive frame blocking the door that led to his bedroom. After he had exploded when Faith named Pacer as the fool behind the issues with the NCR, he had thrown his royal ass around a bit, some more items had gone flying, and he had left. She had come in, found Faith sitting on the floor, hidden alongside the bed and the wall, and now that she had settled her grandbaby down and gotten her to sleep, now she was standing guard. "You scared her."

His long black eyelashes swept his cheek as his eyes closed, his head hanging. "I know I did, Lily, and I regret losing my temper like that, in front of her. Now, let me through and I'll make things right."

The old nightkin stared at him, finally nodding and stepping aside so he could pass.

* * *

><p>"<em>You're so young and beautiful, and I love you so. Your lips so red, your eyes that shine, shame the stars that glow<em>."

Faith woke up, slowly, to soft singing. Even in her semi-alert state, she could not mistake that voice, even though she had heard him sing only once. Without opening her eyes, she took stock of her situation. She was still lying in the King's bed, and from the way she was sort of rolled, she guessed he was in it with her.

"_So fill these lonely arms of mine, and kiss me tenderly."_

If he thought singing to her was a way of apologizing… it was working. She had heard him singing that night Jeff had brought her here, but this was different. For one, it was a lot less noisy, there was nobody screaming like crazy fan girls. Secondly, it was… sweet. Weird, but sweet, and he had a beautiful voice.

"_You're so young and beautiful, you're everything I love…"_

Faith opened her eyes, not surprised to find him right there. He was laying on his side, staring down at her, a crooked smile curving his lips. His head was resting in his palm, his elbow on the pillow, and she was turned towards him on her own side. When he reached out to gently run his fingers along her scarred cheek, she couldn't help but cringe, just a little bit.

He seen it, and sorrow flickered through those blue eyes, though he didn't pull his hand away. "You want to talk about it, sugar?"

She knew instinctively he wasn't talking about their earlier issue and hesitated.

"You're different… from the woman who came in here the first time." He said quietly. "You were with your husband, and you were full of fire."

"That seems like a long time ago." She whispered, remembering that day well. Courier had shot Mark, thinking he was… 'Taker, or Luke. His name was Luke. It was odd… both Mark and Luke had gotten the same nickname, the Undertaker. What did that say about them? Miles apart for years, states apart, but they still had carved out reputations for themselves. Horrible reputations, crimes that she didn't want to contemplate… and yet, she had married one of them, loved one… "I…"

He didn't say a word, just let his hand drift down to rest on hers, squeezing gently.

"I didn't know he had a twin… he never told me. He never told me he grew up Enclave either." Faith hated the Enclave, she got why he never told her that. Maybe he thought she would shoot him… hell, maybe she would've. "I…I was outside the walls of Vegas and slavers got me, Mark's twin… he bought me, I didn't realize it wasn't Mark at first, I thought it was…"

"Luke."

"Luke." She nodded, closing her eyes.

He knew what had happened to her. Jeff had told him, and Jeff was the reason she was here. He had taken her in, sheltered her, because Jeff had asked him too. Now that he had gotten to know her a bit, he rather liked Faith. She was intelligent, perhaps a bit too much, and young… painfully young.


	33. Difference Between Justice and Revenge

**33: The Difference Between Justice and Revenge**

"How did you get the nickname Undertaker?"

"What makes you think that's my nickname?"

"Shawn told me, and he learned it from that Church guy back where you're from."

Sighing, Mark ran a hand down his face, wondering if this was punishment or something. His wife was in Freeside, ignoring his existence, and he was hiking with the woman who had tried to kill him literally on first sight. Sometimes, the fact that he could still be surprised after all this time and all the shit he had seen, was surprising. "Same way my twin did I suppose. Do a lot of bad shit, kill a lot of good people…"

"Rape, murder and pillage?"

"Something like that." He said softly, staring down at the fire they were seated at. She had insisted they stop for the night, not too far from Helios.

"How does someone like you end up with someone like Faith?"

It was as if Courier was out to push every single button that made him want to wrap his hands around her thin throat and just squeeze. She wasn't being a bitch, not so far as he could tell, she actually seemed genuinely curious. "Same way someone like you winds up with someone like Luke I suppose."

"Touché." Courier was nice and didn't point out the differences between them all. She hadn't married her insane 'Taker. Though… she would admit, this one, Mark, he didn't seem all that bad. Obviously he had an evil streak, that was probably something genetic all things considered, but… he also seemed… well, not necessarily 'evil' like his twin was, but… focused, he was focused. Courier had a feeling that Mark's focus tended to be on Faith and whatever it was she was trying to do out here. "We'll head back to Vegas in the morning."

He simply nodded at her.

* * *

><p>"Welcome back, Commander."<p>

"Good to be home, Yes Man." Courier said, actually meaning it. "Anything I should know?"

"Reports from Freeside indicate trouble between locals and the NCR."

"Tell me something I didn't know."

"John and his lady companion have returned. They are on their way up now. John asked to be alerted when you arrived."

She couldn't catch a break and groaned, dropping her satchel on the table. Courier heard the elevator a moment later and ignored it, making her way to the little kitchen of her private suite. She had granted Shawn access, since he slept with her, though his access tended to end when it came to accessing anything on her computers. Everyone else's permissions were limited to when she was there.

"River, I got a fuckin' problem."

"We run out of shampoo?" Courier couldn't help the jibe, knowing how much Melina loved her baths and hair washes. When she straightened up, a Nuka Cola in hand, the smile faded. Melina looked pissed beyond belief, her cheeks sporting those whiskey roses. John was also looking grim. "What happened?"

"I found out what happened to my caravans." Melina said tersely, making her way to the mini-bar. She'd give House props, he had kept his shit stocked. Of course, from what very little she knew, the man hadn't… drank, or done much of anything, besides give orders. She helped herself to some expensive looking whiskey, her back turned to Courier and John. "That damn bitch Alice McLafferty, she cut a deal with the Van Graffs to have my caravans taken out and my head blown off!"

Courier could see why that had Melina all bent out of shape. Having people gunning for you sucked, but it was also something Courier was fairly used to at this point. She knew who the Van Graffs were. They were siblings who ran the Silver Rush, they dealt in plasma and laser weapons, and they were… kind of evil. Alice McLafferty was a higher-up with the Crimson Caravan company, and the Crimson Caravan company was in bed with the NCR. What made this a bit… weird, was the fact that the Van Graff family and the NCR were, and had been for years, at odds with each other. It was bad enough that the NCR had actually been shoving the Van Graffs out of territories. "Do you have evidence?"

"My word ain't good enough for you, _Commander_?"

If not for the fact that Melina was her friend, and Courier already knew the woman had a mean streak that could run a mile wide when she was in her cups, she might have been inclined to throw a punch. "Your word is plenty good for me, Whiskey Rose."

Melina grinned slightly. "All right, boss, so what next?"

"Well," Courier walked over to accept the shot her friend poured her, toasting Melina before shooting it down. "I guess that depends on you. You want justice or revenge?"

John could only look back and forth between the two women as they held what was definitely a silent conversation. "Is there a difference with you two?"

They both shook their heads no.

* * *

><p>"Well, Mel, this is one of our more interesting ideas…"<p>

"You needed to relax anyway, Riv."

Courier must've been relaxing or something, because she didn't mind being called 'Riv'. Of course, she was also fairly buzzed too. She would have to be. She had joined Melina in the overly large bathtub, which was filled copiously with hot water and those bubble things Melina was now addicted to. Melina was at one end, she at the other, and she would admit it: this was heaven. She could see why Melina enjoyed this really, really extravagant luxury. "You decided yet?"

Melina sighed, knowing exactly what Courier meant. "I could turn the evidence over to Jackson…"

Jackson was an NCR Ranger, and given that the Crimson Caravan was under contract with the NCR, they would have jurisdiction. The Van Graffs however, they were part of Freeside… which technically made them her problem. Courier pinched the bridge of her nose. "What do you want to do?"

"I want to blow their heads off." Melina admitted, resting her chin on her kneecaps, which were drawn against her chest and poking through the bubbles. "However…"

Courier just waited.

"Violence isn't always the answer."

"It does raise some damn good questions however. Look, if you want to hand Alice over to the NCR, be my guest but the Van Graffs… no."

"No?"

"They're in Freeside, which is Vegas territory. If I let NCR pass judgment on the Van Graffs, I'm opening a can of worms that shouldn't be opened. I want them bastards out of Vegas, not taking another inch."

"So we'll turn over Alice and…"

Courier sank under the water, tapping Melina's legs with the sole of her feet before pushing herself back up, grinning. "…and we'll kill the Van Graffs."


	34. GI Blues

**34: G.I. Blues**

"There's shooting going on at that little outpost they got, by the old tracks, near-"

"The shelter. Damn it…"

Faith watched as the King massaged his temples, catching Lily shifting in the corner of the room. They were downstairs, in the bar, and had been quietly discussing some Vault tech that may be of use for the garden's some of the locals were trying to grow when one of his boys came rushing in. "What do you mean, a shooting?"

"Just that, ma'am." He panted, hunched over, hands resting on his knees. He had run all the way from said post to here. "I don't know who opened fire first, but… Pacer… he's there."

Faith didn't even have to say 'told you so'.

* * *

><p><strong>From<strong> her understanding, the politics of Freeside and New Vegas were closely intertwined. Faith wasn't overly sure who was in charge however. When they come west, they had been under the impression that New Vegas was 'ruled' over by Robert House. From her limited observations and what she had picked up around other people, House ruled Vegas itself via the Courier, and it was a tie between the King and the NCR when it came to Freeside, though Courier also had her fingers in a lot of pies here.

One thing she definitely knew was that if the King didn't want to declare all-out war on the NCR, he couldn't be seen at this fight. His boys, sure, that could be explained away with some bullshit, but him… not so much.

"Faith…"

She heard him behind her and didn't say a word, just continued shrugging into her relatively new leathers. They were new to her, something Jeff had procured for her when they had left the relative safety of the Strip. She didn't even have her old guns, all that she had been carrying that day was gone. The slavers had taken most of her stuff, what had been left… He had taken from her.

"You don't have to do this, honey." She was still battling her own demons. She had told him as best, as much, as she was able to about what had happened to her in the mountains, and he knew exactly who she was and what she had accomplished back on her own home turf thanks to Jeff. "Faith," King took her gently by the arms, now standing directly behind her. "Don't go getting yourself mixed up in this. It's not your battle, sugar."

She already knew that but she was still going.

* * *

><p><strong>Major<strong> Elizabeth Kieran was the one who had been in charge of the NCR food shelter. She had been the one to send out an envoy to the King in hopes of reaching an understanding concerning the NCR citizens in Freeside and the actual Freeside citizens. What she had gotten in return was a beaten envoy who had never reached the King.

After recent discussions with the King after he had come to the soup kitchen, she had thought the hostilities might die down. She had not been prepared for a group of the Kings to attack but the NCR soldiers with her were better equipped so being unprepared had only been a slight issue.

They had managed to beat what remained of this little posse back towards the tracks, where the NCR had gotten a definite advantage with their watchtower. She had no professional snipers, but her boys weren't too bad with their aim.

"Major, there's a nightkin…"

"What?" Of all the things she had heard and expected to hear, that was not even in the top thirty list.

"A big, purple nightkin… wearing a… hat and a shawl…"

The only nightkin Elizabeth could recall seeing within the last… while, was the one that had been tailing the King and the woman with him. He had reassured them that the mutie wouldn't be any trouble, and Elizabeth wasn't going to lie, she was curious. She poked her head up over the barricade and looked through her binoculars. That nightkin was indeed walking towards them, and so was the woman the King had been with. "Hold fire."

She took in the woman speculatively. The last time she had seen the girl, she had been wearing faded fatigues and a dirty tank top. Today she was wearing hardened leathers, protective gloves, knee high combat boots, and there was a caravan shotgun in her hands. She was about to give the order to open fire again but the woman suddenly held up the shotgun and slowly, deliberately, set it down.

"Huh…"

* * *

><p><strong>"Stay<strong> here, please." Even though Lily was wearing sunglasses, Faith was pretty sure she was getting a 'look'. "Please, Grammie?" It no longer felt weird using that word. What was weird was the fact that she had a super mutant grandma.

Lily growled slightly but nodded, crouching down over the shotgun.

Taking a deep breath, Faith began the slow, cautious trek towards the NCR tower, really hoping they weren't going to shoot her. She had counted five dead Kings and spotted Pacer cowering behind an ancient billboard that had fallen quite some time ago. She felt nothing at being proven right, she had known that idiot was involved in this. When she was finally behind the barricade and tower, she spotted the Major from the shelter and offered a tentative smile.

Major Kieran didn't return the smile.

"The King is willing to cooperate with the NCR. There is no need for further bloodshed." She said, trying her best to be diplomatic. This used to come easily for her. Engaging in negotiations, handling delicate situations, running and gunning when called for… she had been fearless. Well, there had been fear, but not enough to stop her from doing what needed to be done.

So why was she so terrified now?

"We've tried," Keiran said flatly. "and that wound up with our man being beaten down."

"I understand that, and the King has already apologized for it. He wasn't aware an envoy had even been sent until you told him. Look," Faith really did not know enough about Freeside to be getting involved with this… "Right now, the situation in Freeside, and by extension Vegas itself, is delicate. The King is willing to enter into talks and if you're smart, you'll accept this offer."

"Why?"

"Because as far as I know, the NCR is only allowed here by the grace of Mr. House and Freeside is a part of his territory. He might not care about what happens off the Strip most of the time, but if he finds out the NCR is waging war against locals, he might see that as a reason to boot all your asses out of New Vegas."

"That… is a very good point." Keiran hadn't considered that and frowned, already knowing the negotiations with House were teetering on disaster. The NCR wanted to annex Vegas, and the Mojave, but without House falling into line, Vegas was untouchable and there wasn't much point to controlling the Mojave without its central point. "Fine. But I want _you_ to be the go-between the NCR and the Kings."

"Why me?"

"Because apparently the King himself thinks you're something special and I doubt anyone is going to mess with you."

How did she get herself into these situations? Faith agreed to the terms and began walking back to Lily, trying not to look at the bodies. These idiots had come out with their little pistols, and melee weapons, no wonder they had gotten their asses handed to them. She was grateful, however, that this was the extent of it. Pacer must not have been able to drum up enough dissenters and she wondered if the King was aware he might have competition.

Speaking of Pacer…

"Think you're real damn slick, don'tcha?" He was walking to meet her, eyes flashing with anger. "The NCR needs to go and-" He began cursing violently when she punched him in his face, hands flying up to cup his now bleeding nose. "You bitch!"

This idiot had nearly started a war, no… a massacre. That's what it would have been. The people of Freeside had baseball bats, maybe a few guns, and he had nearly gotten them involved a stupid spat with fricking _soldiers_, trained in combat, and how to kill, and definitely better armed. "You had better fall in line, Pacer." She growled, staring at him darkly. "Because if you don't, you're going to wind up dead."

"That a threat?"

"That's a promise. Your stupidity could have cost a lot of people their lives. You already brought death to your friends." She gestured back towards the fallen Kings. "I don't think the King is going to be happy with you."

Pacer pulled his hands away from his face. Blood was still dribbling from his nostrils, staining his mouth. "Think you got his ear, woman? Just because you're a warm body in his bed don't mean-"

"You will not talk to my Faithy that way!"

Apparently Pacer had forgotten about Lily, though Faith had not. She had been watching from the corner of her eye as Lily had approached, finally yanking the idiot right off the ground by his arm.

"Leo says we can hurt bad men!"

"Make it put me down!"

"It is a her, and you will address her as Ma'am." Faith folded her arms over her chest.

"Ma'am, please, my arm!"

Lily glanced at Faith questioningly.

"You going to fall in line and accept what punishment the King dishes out?"

"Yes, yes I swear!"

"Okay. Grammie, you can drop him."

Lily dropped him.


	35. War Council

**35: War Council**

Courier had called another meeting, and everyone was front and center. What was strange was the fact that Mark was here as well. In the month since Helios, he had proven to be… useful. He was probably going nuts, running errands for them, with them, and not hearing a thing from his wife.

She was keeping tabs on Faith though, via Jeff and whatever her Securitrons picked up. Faith had gotten herself involved in Freeside politics, and so far, she was swinging for the winning team. Courier wondered how much of that was intentional on Faith's part, wondering just how much about her plans Jeff had told the other woman.

As it was… she had other things to worry about.

"Can we get this started, darlin'?" Shawn asked softly, watching as she paced at the front of her 'war' table. He smiled when River's blue eyes landed on him, taking in the way her normally stern, harsh face mellowed out into something softer, a slight smile playing her lips. There was his girl. "Sit down."

She took her spot at the head of the table, accepting the beer John placed in front of her and took stock of her people. Her friends, if she wanted to be honest. Melina, her favorite drunk and new bath time buddy. John, fellow disenchanted NCR soldier, who made it a point to question her frequently, especially after the Bitter Springs incident. Jeff, Follower, cynic, and 100% at her back so long as she was genuinely looking out for the people and not herself.

Mark, the new guy and constant reminder of the ultimate pain in her ass, though he was damn useful in a pinch. He had gone through the Fiends in Vault 3 on that search for Faith, alongside his ghoul, Shawn, and Jeff. That had been a major boon for her because the Fiends were fucking batshit insane and causing problems just outside her walls. The fact that he had just waltzed in there and cleaned the nest out the way he had… he was very much like his twin…sometimes enough to throw her off-balance.

Kane, the ghoul, he was mostly an unknown to her. He trailed after Mark for the most part, though she had also noticed he tended to slip away for days at a time. She had no idea where he went or what he did, and the raw power that he was obviously keeping leashed was rather intimidating. She didn't know his story and she wasn't asking.

Then there was Shawn, her Shawn. Dependable, humble, and he was the reason her feet remained grounded. He knew her past, about her various lovers and her husband, he knew where she had come from, where she had been, and he knew where she was going. He knew the trail of blood she had left in her wake, and yet, he was still here. Sometimes, she thought her reason for doing what she did, what she was doing, was for him.

"The Legion is moving in, within weeks, they'll be at the dam." She announced finally, leaning back in her chair and taking in the suddenly grim faces staring back at her. Well, Mark and Kane weren't looking grim, but they had gotten the condensed version of the Legion, and the situation. "We knew it was coming."

"Yeah, it's one thing to talk about it, but another thing to…"Melina shook her head, reaching up to pluck her straw cowboy hat from her head and dropped it on the table. "Christ… so what's the plan? We let the NCR duke it out with our boys in skirts? Sweep in afterwards?"

"Sort of."

"Smart." John said after a moment. "Cowardly, but smart."

"Look, I told you all the stakes awhile ago. I'm not letting the Legion or the NCR have the Mojave. As far as I'm concerned, Mojave is my territory and New Vegas is its goddamn capital." She knew the Mojave, she had walked the desert, and met the hardy people who had managed to create lives out of what could have been a miserable existence. She wasn't these people be subjected to the Legion's cruel dogma or the NCR's resource stripping tendencies. It just wasn't happening. "If you want to walk, now is the time to do it."

When nobody moved, she nodded. "I'm not saying we're sweeping in afterwards, technically. We'll be fighting alongside the NCR."

"Bullshit." John snorted into his beer.

"No, we will, and after we win, the NCR is going to either into a new agreement or evacuate the Mojave."

"New agreement?" That was Shawn, and he looked more than mildly curious.

"The New Vegas Treaty, between the now deceased House and the NCR states that House conceded the McCarran airport for the NCR to use as a base of operations, as well as the adjacent land for their farming ventures. House also conceded a place on the Strip for the NCR to have their embassy and the dam, giving them 95% of the power generated with a guaranteed five percent coming directly to the Strip."

"House was supposed to be a genius…" Jeff said slowly, wondering if he was hearing right. "How in the hell did that benefit him at all?"

"Because, at the time of the agreement, House was in no position to flat out say no. He had just recruited the three families, or tribes, into New Vegas, and his Securitrons were not at the strength they are now."

"Three families?"

She glanced down the table to Mark, nodding. "The White Gloves, who are now dead, the Omertas, who will need tended to soon, and the Chairmen. Each tribe was given status and a casino to run, so long as they agreed to adhere to House's 'society' rules. Part of the agreement stipulated fresh food and water being transported into Vegas, and that the NCR adhered to the 'no guns' policy on the Strip, as well as allow its soldiers to frequent the casinos."

"Again, how was this supposed to benefit him?"

"That's where I came in. That Platinum Chip, the thing Shane tried killing me over. It was a storage device with all the upgrades on it for his Securitrons. With those upgrades, he could have evicted the NCR from Vegas, and possibly the Dam. However…"

"The Legion happened." Mark finished, having sort of followed that.

"Exactly."

"Now, what happened to House?" When he, Faith, and Kane had set out for Vegas, they had been under the impression they would be dealing with its dictator, Robert House. He had the feeling there was no House.

"I killed him."

She said it so simply, so matter-of-factly. He could appreciate that. "Fair enough."

"Now… we have, maybe a week. The Boomers and Khans need to be alerted, because I'm going to need them ready." She was praying the Boomers had that bomber plane thing she and John had raised up from the lake ready to go. "John-"

"I'll go to Nellis." He said instantly, nodding. It was roughly 14 miles, round trip, he could definitely cover that by himself in less than a day. "The Khans though…"

"I already had David send one of his boys, former Khan himself." The Chairmen had been tribal, nomadic savages, but… similar to the Khans, somewhat. They are also the most open of the Families, so… with David being the new head, he's not opposed to recruiting from outside the house. When I left Red Rock canyon, Papa had already sent out runners to bring home all the Khans."

"How many are left?" John was asking out of curiosity, knowing damn well the NCR had slaughtered many. He waited for the twinge of guilt that usually accompanied his thoughts of the Khan's, but it didn't come. It would, he knew it would.

"More than you'd believe."

"They're junkies." Jeff disapproved, and by the way Shawn stiffened, he was guessing the other man did too.

"And warriors, and they're willing to fight for us so suck it up or go home." Courier wasn't messing around, everything was hinged on the Dam. Whoever controlled it, controlled the Mojave, plain as that. "Boomers with their artillery, Khans… I'll have a handful of Securitrons here at the Strip along with the Chairmen to escort NCR out of the city once I send word."

"Wait…" Shawn interrupted, sure he had missed something. "It sounds like you plan on being at the Dam…"

"I do." She could already see he was ready to launch into what would probably be a very interesting argument about why she shouldn't but… it was going to have to wait. "Shawn, you can try changing my mind later. Right now, business or get out."

He was obviously considering getting out, hazel eyes narrowed at her. Finally, he just nodded curtly, remaining in his seat, rigid, but seated.

"Anyways," Back to business, their personal issues would wait until later. "I have a man inside the Gomorrah-"

Shawn remembered visiting that viper's pit with her. She had encountered a former lover of hers there, Maria, the woman had been an addict and a victim of management. He was pretty sure said member of management, Cachino, was her informant. Cachino was not someone he would want working for him, the man held no loyalty to anyone but himself.

"And thanks to him, we know that the Omertas are working with the Legion."

"What are we doing about this? You know they're probably feeding the Legion information." Jeff shook his head, uncapping his bottle of purified water and took a small sip. "It's surprising that you let them…do this, for so long."

"It had its benefits." She admitted, knowing damn well if Jeff knew what she knew… he'd be pretty pissed. The Legion had infiltrated the NCR, here in Vegas, and at McCarran. Infiltrated their ranks pretty damn high from her understanding, and she knew for a fact that whoever was the spy was sending intel back to the Legion regarding NCR movement. The only reason she had let it go on like she had was because she supported neither side and wasn't about to undermine their attempts at sabotaging each other. It just meant less clean-up for her. "Benefits are over though. Omertas have to go."

It was silent for a while after that. Everyone else was contemplating what she had said, she was thinking over what else needed done. There was still the Brotherhood to contend with. They had gone into hiding after the NCR whipped their asses at Helios but she wasn't stupid enough to think that they had vacated the Mojave. The fact that Faith had come here, intent on seeing them, confirmed her suspicions. She also had a feeling that once they found out the NCR was gone, they'd be back, and she wasn't sure how that would play out.

Her attention was drawn to Jeff when she seen him fidgeting, frowning slightly. "Something you want to share?"

"I uh, might know some people… who would help with… the fight."

She did not miss the way Mark's eyes strayed to the Follower, or the way his mouth seemed to think out into a grim line. Well… what was that about? "All right?"

"You're joking…" That was Mark and he ran a hand down his face, letting out a sigh. His wife was going to kill him.

"How do you feel about retired Enclave?"

Courier cocked an eyebrow. That was… not what she had been expecting.


	36. Always

**36: Always**

"What happened to you?" Courier didn't overly care for Pacer. He was a jackass, but he was also the King's right-hand man so she tolerated him. It seemed like she tolerated a lot of people these days.

Shawn didn't know Pacer that well, but the few times he had been unfortunate to talk to the other man, the impression hadn't been overly great. "Well, darlin', looks like someone blacked his eye for him."

Pacer shifted at his post, standing just inside the bar, guarding the door that led to into the main room of the old school. "Can I help you, Ma'am?" He asked politely, but through gritted teeth.

She hadn't been called 'ma'am' in quite some time and Courier didn't know how to feel about it. It was obvious someone had beaten some politeness into Pacer and she wondered if it had anything to do with the fiasco with the NCR, the one that Faith had settled. "I'm here to speak with the man."

"He and the Missus are having their breakfast."

"Breakfast? It's afternoon."

"They slept in."

Courier wondered what Jeff had left out of his reports, because if Pacer was talking about Faith being the 'missus'… Faith was married. She wasn't entirely sure how marriage worked out in the Capital Wasteland, but here… they actually had channels to go through, what with them being civilized and with a sort of government. She snorted at that. She had been married via the NCR chaplain, she had no idea how those outside of the NCR did it. "So set us a plate, Pace. Like I said, I need to speak to him."

"Let me go… make sure…" He muttered under his breath, slipping through the door.

Courier didn't bother waiting, she just followed him, Shawn following her. The room was fairly empty, the King was at his usual table, his dog at his feet, and he was sitting with… Faith. Okay, Faith was the missus, that would be interesting as hell to see play out when Mark learned about it. Lily, the mutant, was sitting on the stage, enjoying her own breakfast and talking to herself, as quietly as a schizo nightkin could.

"Hand of House, come on and join us."

"Hand of House?" Courier was glad he was in a good mood. The man was moody and could have a temper, but today, today he was smiling. She sat next to Faith, watching as a chair was procured for Shawn across from her. "That's new."

"You speak for him." King said simply, using a knife and form to cut his Brahmin steak, blue eyes glancing at her briefly before to Faith. "Don't you?"

"Sure do." She replied easily, though her inner alarms were beginning to go off. She took in 'breakfast', which turned out to be eggs of some kind, steak, and what might have been fried veggies. Her breakfast usually consisted of whatever she could eat on the go, and her stomach rumbled.

Shawn tried not to laugh, especially when her cheeks flushed.

"Hey, someone let cook know we need a few more plates!" He was in a generous mood today and smiled at his guests, then looked at Faith's plate. "Hell, just bring it all out. Lily, you want anything else?"

"Another one of those sassafrass drinks."

"Sassafrass?"

Faith shook her head, trying not to smile. "Those Sunset Sarsaparilla drinks, she really likes those."

"Faith thinks they're… what was that phrase you used, honey?"

"Sicker than a ghoul's piss."

"Charming." Courier wrinkled her nose at that. "You look… better, Faith." She said after a moment, taking in the younger woman. When Faith has left the Lucky 38, she had been… physically healed but she still had carried obvious signs of psychological trauma and pain. Now she seemed, healthier, a lot healthier. She was sitting there wearing a pale green dress that was in relatively good condition and reminded Courier of the posters from the 'good old days' in the casinos. Faith's black hair was neatly combed and twisted up in one of the style's she had seen on the Strip, and she had roses in her cheeks. Her eyes were bright and alert, and she didn't cringe when the King reached over to place his hand on top of hers. She had no idea what was going on but it seemed to be working.

"Thanks, I feel better." Faith admitted, smiling slightly. She gently pulled her hand away and resumed eating, brown eyes moving slowly from Courier to Shawn and back again. She felt… not fully back in the saddle, so to speak, but close. She almost felt like the Lone Wanderer again, braver, but… she knew the true test would be outside this building, face to face with her husband.

"So, I heard you had some trouble with the NCR."

* * *

><p>"You don't have to leave just yet, you know."<p>

"I can't stay here forever." Faith had known this was coming. After their late breakfast with Courier and Shawn, she had excused herself to come change and get her things. Courier had informed the King about the upcoming fight and what she needed from him. She wanted him, and Julie Farkas, to house as many citizens as possible over the next few weeks, get them off the streets, and defend them if necessary. Faith had gotten the impression that war might be coming to New Vegas itself.

She had also gotten the impression that she had helped Courier out, which was apparently a good thing. While Courier might have been called the House of Hand, Faith didn't think for one second she was the one with the strings being pulled. Courier struck her as someone who pulled the strings.

"You could, if you wanted too." He said softly. He was a fool, and he knew it. She had been brought here for a reason, to get better, and she was definitely better. "I know you, honey, you're going to get yourself involved in whatever Courier's got her hands in. Don't. Stay."

Faith turned around, finishing lacing up her waist. The leathers were a bit different from her old merc outfit. It covered her from neck to toes, minus her left arm, which left plenty of room for her new Pip-Boy. Once she was finished, she looked up at him, the corners of her full mouth turning up slightly. "You gonna make me your Queen?"

"I never thought I'd say this… but yes, I would." He watched the myriad of emotions play across her face and through those very expressive eyes. He had seen the desert, and figured he had seen damn near about every shade of brown there was. He hadn't, not until he met her. She was tempted, he could tell, and he could see the longing, knowing damn well in the end however, she'd turn him down.

Faith was twenty-four years old and in that time, she had only loved one man and until recently, she had only been with one man. That had been Mark. She had never felt the urge to stray, and while she did appreciate a fine specimen, appreciation had never meant wandering or anything else. Then came the evil twin… a near spitting image of her husband and… everything had gone to hell.

She knew that her current feelings for this man were based on what had happened to her and how he had treated her when she had arrived. He had been there for her, helped her, and somehow managed to get her back on her feet. It was a mental, emotional thing, and it would fade. That didn't mean what she felt wasn't real, or that she wouldn't look back and wonder what might have been. She just knew better than to act on anything, especially right now. "As tempting as that sounds, I'm going to have to pass."

"I figured you would." He brushed a strand of flyaway hair off her face. "You know you can come back here, whenever you want. I'll always keep the door open for you, Faith."

* * *

><p>"Don't go rushing her into your shit, River." Shawn said sternly, standing outside the King's school, waiting for Faith. Over breakfast and their talk, Courier had somehow managed to convince Faith to return to the 38 with them. "She might seem fine now, but that's because she's been in a whole new environment, without anything around to trigger her."<p>

"I know, Shawn." She wasn't offended, she knew she had a cold hearted reputation, and for the most part, it was fairly true. She needed Faith, or at least Faith's information, but she'd be patient about it. It wasn't like she needed to do anything about the Brotherhood just yet, eventually though, something would come up. They'd come out and she'd either need to negotiate a truce or wipe them out. She was hoping Faith's connection with the Wasteland cell would help smooth out the transition.

Shawn really hoped she got how serious this was. She had been raped by the same man, but River seemed to be mostly offended and pissed off, not hurt. He didn't want to think about the logistics of that… The history between River and the Undertaker… it was complicated, to put it mildly. He tilted his hat back when Faith stepped outside, followed by Lily, smiling gently at her. "You ready?"

"I'm not going to break, Doc, promise." Faith said, returning the smile, though hers was tinged with a hint of sadness. She had gotten used to the Kings not walking on eggshells around her, she had a feeling that was about to go away. She rather liked not being treated like a victim, of course, it had helped that she hadn't felt like one either. "Kane!"

Shawn and Courier both stepped out of the way when Faith pushed past them, turning to watch as she ran straight into the arms of the massive ghoul in the red and black mask. Lily stood behind them all, simply taking everything in.

Courier suddenly realized where Kane had been disappearing too. He had been keeping tabs on Faith. "Well, now that we're all here…"


	37. How Little We Know

**37: How Little We Know**

**She** hadn't been back at the 38 for more than a few minutes when Yes Man was already bothering her. Courier had literally just stepped through the doors, entering the casino, with her little posse in tow, when Yes Man's voice resonated throughout the floor. "Say that again?"

"Cachino has sent you a message."

That's what she thought the A.I. had said, frowning slightly. "And what is it?"

"Maria has gone missing."

Maria… a former lover and former working girl, previously employed –and that was a generous term- by the Omertas at the Gomorrah. "Maria left the Strip…" She glanced back at Shawn, frowning. "Didn't she?"

"We got her out the gate." He had been there, met the diminutive red-head, and quickly diagnosed her drug problem. Courier had then dealt with one of Maria's tormentor's, and somehow, the man was now her lackey. He wasn't entirely sure he wanted to know how that had come about. "Think she might've come back?"

"No… Maria isn't as dense as she comes across…" Courier reached up to rub her chin, wondering if Cachino was stupid and ballsy enough to double cross her. Given the fact that she had made him give a gun a blow job, with her finger on the trigger, and shit himself… it wouldn't surprise her if he was waiting for a moment to strike. "Well damn it…"

Faith was lost. Her eyebrows rose sharply when Courier turned to look at her, knowing that look. She was about to be asked to help.

* * *

><p><strong>Courier<strong> had experienced the lovely sensation of Shawn tearing her a new asshole. When she had asked Faith to go to the Gomorrah, he had immediately protested. She knew why too, the place was nothing but drugs, sex, and violence, it could potentially be triggering. However… Faith was in the unique position of being resourceful and an unknown face, which meant she might be able to get into places neither Courier or anyone else who was known to be in her crew could.

Because she wasn't about to attempt going into an all-out war with the Omertas just yet, not until she knew just exactly what this big deal she knew they had cooking was, she had demanded that everyone but Faith remain behind. Kane had not been pleased. Lily had not been pleased. Shawn had dressed her down in front of them all.

She had explained the current situation and atmosphere at the Gomorrah. Faith had listened, quietly, and gathered her potential role. Faith had also realized why Courier had requested she strip out of her leathers and put on a dress, heels, and fuss with her hair.

"So…"

"I'm all dressed up, might as well go." Faith said with a slight shrug of her thin shoulders. "You'll be in constant communication, right?"

Courier nodded, tapping the screen of her Pipboy. "I'll be listening, and if you need help, just say so and I'll send in the cavalry."

"Find Cachino, find out what he knows, and go from there." Faith said, having heard all about what kind of place the Gomorrah was, Shawn had not been nice in his description of the casino. "I got this."

"You got this."

* * *

><p><strong>"You're<strong> damn lucky her husband took off with Jeff to gather up those Enclave people." Shawn said flatly as he and Courier took the elevator back up to the penthouse, where she would listen in on Faith via Yes Man boosting their Pipboy links. "He'd shoot you in the head, and I don't think I'd patch you up this time."

"You are really pissed about this." She would admit, it hurt hearing him say that, though at the same time, she also understood his issue. "Look, I know she's in a… fragile state of mind right now, but she's the only one who can do this without causing a major scene. If I go over there and start poking around, Big Sal and Nero are going to know something is up."

Shawn had no idea who Big Sal or Nero was and he didn't care. "Damn it River…" He groaned, looking skyward when he felt her arms sliding around his neck. "No, you're not changing my mind." He growled, trying to ignore the feel of her lips against his chin.

"I'm not trying too."

* * *

><p><strong>Finding<strong> Cachino had been a bit of an issue. What Courier hadn't told her was that the Gomorrah was huge. There was the lobby and reception area, followed by the actual casino. Beyond that were the elevators and a restaurant, which also included a stage and a bunch of cages, all occupied by… working girls. Faith had only ever met one working girl and that had been Nova back in Megaton. Seeing a bunch of them, and their dancing…. It was intimidating to say the least.

She knew what Cachino looked like, thanks to security footage Courier had pulled, so she avoided him. She made her way to the bar and ordered vodka, trying to look as if she belonged there. When she had come in, there had been the 'no weapons' policy followed by a pat down. She remembered going into the Tops and that big guy, David, trying that. She felt like that had been years ago when in reality, it had only been a few months.

She felt like an entirely different person now, and she wasn't sure where that person stood right now. While she sipped her drink, she took in the various doors, noting which ones general patrons came in and out of. She also took note of the Omertas. All dressed in suits, all wearing hats, and all packing weapons. She instinctively did not like these people, or the way they eyed the common folk. Like they were all sheep to be fed upon.

After a respectable amount of time had passed, she got up and took her drink with her, ambling over to his table in front of the stage. When he looked up in surprise, she flashed a charming smile and quickly set down, not waiting for his invitation. "I'm here," She said softly, not wanting to be overheard. "On behalf of a mutual friend."

He studied her, smiling in return though the suspicion in his eyes was obvious. "Then you'll know the pass code?"

She gave it to him.

* * *

><p><strong>"Know<strong> anything about this guy?" Faith asked quietly into her Pipboy, waiting patiently as she heard Courier ordering Yes Man to do a search. After verifying herself to Cachino, he had told her that several working girls had come up missing. Maria had been spotted entering the Gomorrah but never exiting, last seen in the company of a guy name Clanden.

Clanden was a part of a larger issue. He and some other guy, Troike, had been outside mercenaries brought in do to work for Big Sal and Nero. Cachino had had no idea what they were doing but he was assuming it was Legion related.

"Nothing on Clanden but Troike is a weapons dealer, he's the reason Mick and Ralph in Freeside aren't doing much business lately."

"Well Clanden is the one Maria was spotted with."

"So follow-up on him."

That signaled the end of the conversation and Faith sighed, glancing down at the card she had been given by Cachino, the club Zoara key he had given her in the pocket of her dress. He had told her to present the card if anyone tried stopping her as she worked her way through the building but to not go upstairs, that was off-limits to everyone but management.

Navigation became harder because her Pipboy, while used, had been completely wiped. If it had contained the layout of the Gomorrah before, it no longer did and was mapping her steps, mapping the layout. Useful if she had to run she supposed.

It wasn't Clanden she found first, it was Troike. She only knew it was Troike because of the way Cachino had described him as "spending half the day pumping his body full of chems and the other half pumping hookers with his willy." Troike showed classic signs of addiction, complete with Jet inhalers scattered about and she could not miss the naked women laying in an overly large bed if she had tried.

What followed was a very interesting conversation.

* * *

><p><strong>"Did<strong> he just say…"

Shawn and Courier had been sitting at the table, listening to the conversation, and he had heard it just as clear as she had. His jaw was probably on top of the maps right about now but he managed a nod. "He… bomb…"

"There's a fucking bomb on the monorail!" Courier held no love for the NCR, but the idea of it, the government, the individuals however… there were good people, good soldiers. People like Chris, for example. The monorail ran from a station here in New Vegas, to McCarran and a few other places, and if it went up… She was already getting to her feet. "Shawn, can you manage with her?"

"What?"

"I've got to disarm that fucking bomb!" She wanted the NCR out of Vegas, but if their train blew up, they were going to consider that an act of warfare, especially if they discovered it came from one of the Three Families. "Faith, I'm going to the train station, Shawn will be here to help you and I'll still be in touch over the Pipboy."

"Okay." Faith sounded unsure of herself for a moment before clearing her throat. "You got experience with explosives?"

"Do you?"

"I have… experience with stuff like that." The Purifier came to mind, and Faith could vividly remember the radiation eating at her.

"I got it, kid. You just find Maria and get the hell out of there. I'm going to raze that place when I get back."


	38. Maria, Maria

**38: Maria, Maria**

The idea of being in a building filled with thermite did not sit well with Faith. Troike had flat out told her he was seriously considering setting it off, just to blow up all the weapons he had smuggled into the Gomorrah for the Omertas. She had gathered, that when the battle did occur, the Omertas were planning on razing –to borrow the word from Courier- the Strip. She didn't want to know what they were getting from the Legion to do this, or if they were just that damn vicious.

She resumed the hunt for Clanden. She had asked Troike about the guy and he had pointed her in the general direction with a warning to watch herself. That had not been promising.

"Are you there Shawn?" She asked quietly, making her way down the carpeted hallway.

"I'm here, honey." His voice, coming from her wrist, was soothing.

"Any word from Courier?"

"No, but her vitals indicate she's probably running, blood pressure is up."

"Yes Man comes in handy, doesn't he?"

"A bit." Shawn chuckled. "You doing okay, Faith?"

"I'm fine. People think I'm talking to myself, or my hand." Because she was holding her wrist up, preferring other people to not hear him.

"Not to sound mean, but considering what goes on there, they probably assume you're high."

"Probably." She fell silent, watching as a man with sandy brown hair and reasonably well dressed entered a suite. "I think I found our guy."

"Be careful."

Faith nodded, not that he could see, and picked up the pace, cursing the high heels. She came to a stop outside the double doors, frowning as she looked down. She was fairly certain that was blood. Crouching down, she reached out a finger, touching the spot, and recoiled slightly. Fresh blood. "Shit…"

"Faith?"

"Sorry Shawn, I'm muting you. You'll be able to hear me, but I won't hear you." She said apologetically, quickly navigating the menu on her Pipboy screen until she had reached the audio controls, muting him. She knocked once and then hesitantly pushed the doors open when a 'come in' reached her, stepping inside. "Clanden?"

"Yes…?" He had been at the stairs and was now appraising her, eyes narrowing thoughtfully. "Did Nero send you?"

"Nero? No… I'm, I'm looking for a friend. Maria?"

"Maria… Maria…" He considered that, frowning slightly before snapping his fingers. "Red head?"

"Yes."

"I seen her the other night. She used to work here, it was… interesting, seeing her back."

"Do you know why she came back?"

Clanden stepped away from the stairs, one hand straying to his pocket. "How do you know Maria?" He asked suspiciously.

"Freeside, she was going to put a word in for me at the Atomic Wrangler." Faith managed a self-deprecating smile as she lied. She would have shot herself first before becoming a whore, she had her pride. "She never showed up for what was supposed to be my first night so the Garret's wouldn't let me start. I'm… new." She flushed, wondering if he was buying her crap. She sure wasn't.

He seemed to believe her, his stance relaxing. "New… to the profession or to…" He seemed to be thinking how to word it. "The… uh, act, in general?"

She was really blushing now, wondering what business of his _that_ information was.

He seemed to go with the act in general answer, a slow smile spreading across his face. "She said she was here for River."

"River?"

"I don't know, a friend I guess. Said she had heard something in Freeside about some guns or something, come here to investigate. I don't know, crazy conspiracy stuff. Told her I didn't know anything and that was it."

Faith did not believe him for a second, and she let her brown eyes stray over the room, taking it in thoughtfully. "Oh… hm." When he moved, she glanced back at him, noting the slight bit of blood from where his foot had been a moment ago. "Well, I guess I'll ask around… maybe one of the managers could help me."

Clanden laughed at that. "Probably not. They're not keen on questions. Why don't I come with you? I know the Gomorrah pretty well, and nobody will ask questions if you're with me."

She did not like the way he said that. Faith began realizing, as his smile broadened, that she was in trouble.

* * *

><p><strong>"Doctor,<strong> Mr. Calaway is requesting permission to come up."

Shawn was panicking slightly. The conversation had sounded normal but there was something about this Clanden guy, the way his tone was maybe, his wording, that had set him on edge. He had tried cautioning Faith, and then ordering her to vacate the Gomorrah, but she hadn't been able to hear him. "Let him up." He ran a hand through his hair, pacing back and forth before the monitor. "I thought he was helping Jeff?"

"Dr. Hardy has returned as well, he is in the lounge eating."

Shawn whirled when he heard the elevator dinging it's arrival, watching as Mark stepped out. Seeing the man never failed in causing Shawn's gut to coil momentarily, the resemblance to the Undertaker always getting him. Twins, there had to be twins. "That didn't take long."

"No. Orion is living right outside the walls and Judah was over in Westside. Hardy says we'll deal with Henry when we go to the bunker." Mark said cautiously, descending the stairs slowly. Shawn was looking frazzled, and he froze in place when he heard Faith's voice. "What's going on?"

Shawn was not looking forward to dying.

* * *

><p><strong>Faith<strong> had picked Clanden's pocket, and found a key. That was what he had been playing with. She had thought it might be a weapon or something. Fingering the key, she quickly made her way from his suite as fast as the heels would allow her. She had somehow managed to dissuade him from 'escorting' her, the creepy vibes he had given had set off her inner alarms.

She didn't want to know what the key was for, it made her stomach clench just looking at it. She didn't want to know why she was following the trail of now sticky, drying blood, that was appearing in larger amounts. That meant she was getting close to wherever Clanden had been.

Finally, the blood led her to a door in an empty hallway and she knew the key would open that door. She took a deep breath, wondering if she was ready to see what was in there.

She was not.

"Jesus… sweet Jesus…" Faith had to cover her mouth, tears filling her eyes at the sight that greeted her. There was a large counter in the middle of the concrete room, and on it was a woman in her underthings, with a shock of red head. Even though the woman was face down, Faith was going to assume this was Maria.

Stepping inside, she took the rest of the room in. Hooks dangled from the ceiling, over the counter, and there was a type of monitor before a wall, a camera resting on top of it. In one corner were massive lights, stage lights, she had seen those at the King's school, where she was wishing she was right now.

Knowing she was really, really going to regret it, Faith approached the counter. Just by a cursory look, she knew Maria was dead, but she wanted to examine the body anyway. Blood was everywhere, and she wished for a pair of gloves as she reached out, placing her palm on Maria's bare back. She hadn't been dead for very long, and it was easy to see why she had died. The hooks had been brutal, or perhaps the man who had utilized them had been brutal.

She had slipped into a rather dispassionate state, taking in the damage coldly, something she had learned to do when she had been training with her father. James had never had to deal with something like this, and she doubted he would have been overly calm about it, but… she had seen a lot of messed up things since leaving the vault.

It was when she managed to roll Maria over that she felt the emotional barrier crack. The look on the dead woman's face was of pain, fear, and a lot of terror. Another crack, one that destroyed the wall completely, was as Faith finished her examination. Maria had been sexually assaulted, in ways Faith didn't want to try comprehending.

Shawn had repeatedly said 'triggers' to Courier, which meant stuff that would set Faith off, or cause her to have a relapse to how she had been when she had first escaped Luke…

This was that trigger.


	39. Triggers

**39: Triggers**

"…_because I am not a little girl." Faith spat, almost instantly regretting it when his eyes scanned her from top to bottom. Swallowing, she took a step backwards. Her ankles collided with the steps and his hands came out, pushing at her shoulders. Faith grunted when she landed on her back on the wooden staircase._

_He was on her in an instant, wedging himself between her thighs, one hand moving to her side, the other palming her breast through her shirt. "No, no you're not…"_

"_Stop!" Faith's own hands flew to grasp his wrist, unable to look into his face. It was like seeing Mark, but a twisted form of him. "Quit it!"_

_Snorting, he pulled himself up and away from her._

_She let out a sigh of relief though it quickly turned into a scream of surprise and rage when she found herself being pulled upright. The scream turned into her gasping for breath when her stomach forcefully met his shoulder as he slung her over him. It took Faith a moment to regain herself, and by that time, they were already upstairs. _

_He dropped her on the mattress they used as a bed and that's when it really struck home. He was going to rape her. Faith scrambled backwards as much as her aching body would allow her, feeling her back come into contact with the wooden wall. All she could do was watch as he dropped to his knees on the bed, his hands moving to the front of his pants._

"_You going to sit and watch, little sister?" 'Taker drawled slowly, rather enjoying the way her eyes were fastened on his crotch, able to read the fear in them quite clearly. "Or are you going to fight me?"_

_She launched herself at him, quickly finding that in this position, on her knees, without weapons, or anything to use as leverage she was disadvantaged. Also against her was the abuse she had already suffered at his hands, and Faith started screaming herself hoarse when she was forcibly pinned, his massive hand wrapped around her throat._

"_Too bad Mark isn't here, huh, lil sis?" He taunted, using his free hand to pry her legs apart, nestling himself between her thighs as soon as he could. "You'd be able to get us in both ends." 'Taker ignored her struggles, not overly minding the blows she managed to land on him, or the way she twisted and torqued her body in an effort to free herself. He rather enjoyed it, almost as much as he enjoyed the idea of saying hello to his brother in such a delightful fashion. "You'll just have to make do with me… promise, I'm twice the fun…" His words were coming slower, in grunts, as she was not making this easy and finally, he backhanded her._

_Faith's head lulled to the side, the side of her face a brilliant, angry red. She could hear her heart pounding in her ears again, on top of the rustling of clothing being removed, not that she was wearing much to begin with. Any moment now, Mark would come in, he would stop this… or Kane would. Kane was always just ten feet behind her when she really needed him, like at Raven Rock._

_Neither of them ever came._

Faith was snapped out of her memories by the sound of the door slamming shut and blinked in confusion. The confusion cleared quickly when she seen Clanden, realizing she had spent too much time in here and he had followed her.

"Well look at you…" He said softly, eyes surveying the room, Maria, and then finally her. "It's so rare that I get a… _volunteer_…"

"Stay the hell away from me." She ordered, really wishing she had been able to sneak a gun in, just so she could shoot him and be done with it.

"Do you like my work?" He gestured to Maria's body. "She lasted quite a while, screaming for her friend, for River. Tell me, do you know who River is?"

Faith was going to assume River was Courier, or whoever the hell the woman was, but shook her head no instead.

"Hm, shame. Now, we can do this the hard way, or the boring way." Clanden's already bright smile broadened into something feral when she kicked off her heels and assumed a fighting stance. "Fun way it is."

* * *

><p><strong>The<strong> monorail was currently at McCarran, which meant Courier had to haul ass. The NCR had vehicles, she could have used one of those right now. Through Freeside, out the gates, around the walls, all the way to the front of McCarran, and then inside. By the time she was actually in the old airport building, she was out of breath and mentally vowed she was going to work on her cardio training. She had been in here a time or two since regaining her memory, but she had usually limited her visits to outside, talking to the sniper unit for information.

Now, she was running through the terminals, trying to ignore the stitch in her side and the fact that NCR guards were shouting at her. She was probably going to get shot or something, saving their asses… that would be ironic.

"Chief Brooks!"

That was Chris Irvine and she merely threw her hand up in passing, not bothering to correct him as she bolted through side doors that would lead to the monorail, a place she knew the NCR was going to say she had no business being. What had her worried at the moment was the bomb. Was it set on a timer? Would it go off if she tinkered with it? Courier did not want to die in a shitty train, at a shitty NCR post.

"Brooks, you got two seconds to tell me what the hell you're doing!"

"What happened to Chief?" She shot over her shoulder, boarding the train. "Yes Man?"

"Yes, Commander?"

"Help me find this thing."

"By thing, Commander, I assume you mean the bomb?"

Chris had followed her, gun out, and had listened to that, his blue eyes widening. "A bomb?" He almost, as a reaction, raised the gun to aim at her, but managed to refrain. This was River Brooks, and while he knew she wasn't the biggest fan of the NCR, he also knew she wasn't a mass murderer. "Riv, what's going on?"

"Legion has a man inside your station here, Chris." She was keeping her arm up, letting Yes Man do whatever the hell it was he was doing with his own systems and her Pipboy. "And I got confirmation not too long ago, that there was a bomb on the monorail."

"Commander,"

"Commander?"

"Might I suggest looking?"

"Thank you, Yes Man." She sighed sarcastically, raking both hands through her hair. "Chris, help me."

"Commander?'

"Bomb, Chris, a bomb."

* * *

><p>"<strong>Goddamn<strong> it, Smoothskin!"

Faith nearly began weeping with relief when she heard the familiar, exasperated growl of Kane, her ghoul in shining leathers. She was already weeping from pain because of the hook through the back of her shoulder. She couldn't even begin to describe the pain, and every move she made, whether it was a twitch, jerk, or taking a breath, made it tug in her flesh. Clanden had procured said hook, from beneath the counter, and shown just how capable with it he was.

Clanden was also on the floor, dead, with the spike of her high heel right through his eye socket. She had managed that one after the hook, and it had been a desperate move. But it had worked. "Help me, Kane."

Kane nodded, having taken in the room, the grisly scene, and the fresh dead body. He was gathering the man with the shoe in the eye was the one who had hurt her, and he wasn't to upset finding the man dead. He made his way to her, gently turning her so he could get a good look. "Faith, this is going to hurt." He informed her flatly.

"Been through worse."

"Deep breath."

* * *

><p><strong>They<strong> had found the bomb. It was in a vent, beside the door, and Courier was not okay with the fact that it was indeed on a timer. Granted, they had a little time, but… who the hell knew what would happen once they began toying with it. "I don't suppose the NCR has taken the advice of smarter people and invested in a bomb unit?"

"You were at Boulder, we're better at setting the damn things then we are disarming them."

Yeah, she had been at Boulder, and if not for the fact that Chris was good people, Courier might've shot him for that. She had carted her dying husband out of the city right as the explosions had destroyed it. Not one of her favorite memories.

"I don't want to die with you, Irvine, you're an asshole."

He shrugged, blue eyes staring at the ticking death machine, wondering just how far fucked the NCR was. The Legion was here, parading as NCR officials and soldiers, and his mind was having a hard time wrapping this. "Got any tools?"

"Got a knife." She reached down into one of the many pockets on her Brahmin leather pants, procuring her tiny dagger. "I wasn't kidding, I don't want to die here, with you."

"It's not your time, Riv." He reached for the dagger, noting his hands were a bit more steady then hers.

"Now… let's just pray it's not yours or else I'm fucked by association."

Laughing, Chris began unscrewing the casing.


	40. Return of the Capital Wasteland Undertak

**40: Return of the Capital Wasteland Undertaker**

"Well now, Big Sal and Nero want to see you, sweetheart. I bet they'll want to see your pet ghoul as well."

Faith had no idea who this lackey was, but it wasn't Cachnio and she really hoped Shawn was picking up on the fact that she, and now Kane, were in trouble. Kane had just removed that damn hook from her back, and was holding the sweater he had ripped off Clanden's dead body against the bleeding wound. They had been walked in by Omerta thugs, and she was guessing her presence and visiting Troike and Clanden had not gone unnoticed. "He's not a pet." She said coldly, wondering if Kane had managed to sneak any weapons through security.

"Sure sweetheart, move." The thug gestured towards the door with his gun. "Slowly."

"Kane?"

Kane hated how timid she sounded and spared a glance down. "I'm here, smoothskin."

* * *

><p>Courier had sent his wife into the Gomorrah, on what was probably a suicide mission. Mark had heard enough and had stormed out of the Lucky 38. He was aware of, but ignoring, Lily's presence beside him. Her mutterings were just background noise, though that sword of hers… he was considering borrowing it, just because he might actually run out of ammo, he was planning on shooting the Gomorrah up.<p>

He was also vaguely aware of Shawn following them, the good doctor carting a shotgun of his own and a grim expression. It was probably a good thing Courier was nowhere in the immediate vicinity, Mark would have shot her.

"Hello, and welcome to the Gomorrah," The receptionist said without looking up when she heard the bell. "Please leave your-"

Mark ignored her, heading towards the archway that led into the casino. He stopped when an Omerta stepped in front of him.

"You'll need to turn over your wea-" The Omerata never finished his sentence, his body going backwards from being up close and personal with Mark's favorite short range weapon, his sawed off.

"Not going to give them a chance to lay down arms?" Shawn asked softly. He actually cringed when the other man spared him a glance, the venom in those eyes causing his heart to do a quick squeeze.

"No. Lily?"

She grunted.

"Set Leo loose."

"Leo says we can KILL THE BAD MEN!"

Shawn inwardly groaned. This was going to be a massacre.

* * *

><p>"You have been nosing around in our business, little miss. That's not a good thing."<p>

Big Sal was not as big as his name implied, but when he smiled, Faith felt like that must have been what the inside of a shark's mouth must have looked like. All sharp and pointy teeth. "I was just looking for my friend." She said quietly, perched on the edge of the couch she and Kane had been forced down on, hands resting in her lap.

"Yeah, looking for your friend, and messing with my boys. Clanden is dead, and I had big plans for him. Didn't I, Nero?"

"Oh yeah," Nero was a bit older than Sal, and spoke more slowly. "Big, big plans."

"Now, we're without our specialist. Little girl," Sal shook his head, smiling at her as if she were a child who had done wrong, though the glint in his eyes was less than amused. "What are we going to do with you?"

Kane growled warningly.

* * *

><p>"Upstairs, they took her upstairs!"<p>

Mark glanced at Shawn, who was staring at Cachino out of narrowed eyes. "You trust this piece of shit?"

"Not in the least." Shawn did not approve of Mark's rampage through the casino. The man was not discriminating in his kills, though at least Lily, or Leo, whoever the Nightkin was at the moment was letting the women run by, targeting only the men. Made sense, the men, the Omertas, were the ones trying to gun them down.

"Show me." Mark nudged Cachino out of the corner, hazel eyes narrowed. "And if one hair on her head is harmed, I'm holding _you_ personally responsible."

Cachino pissed himself.

* * *

><p>"You take one more step, zombie, and I'll shoot her right in her scarred, ugly face!"<p>

Sal was freaking out, mostly because Kane had snapped Nero's neck with his bare hands when the man had made a move on Faith. Instead of shooting the ghoul, Sal had grabbed Faith, pinned her to a wall, and planted the business end of his pistol against her lips.

Grunting, Kane stood there, fists clenching and unclenching at his sides. "It'll be the last thing you ever do." He rasped finally, mismatched eyes darting to Faith, who looked surprisingly calm all things considered. Maybe she was finally going into shock. He knew coming to the Mojave had been a mistake. Of all the things she had endured in the Capital Wasteland… none of it had broken her like this damn desert.

"You just back the hell out, you move out of my way, and I'll let her go," Sal promised. "After I'm clear, understand? You just-" He flinched when the door to his office was kicked in, letting out a low moan of horror that stepped in. "No… not you, not you…" The Undertaker had just stormed in and he was looking murderous.

"We haven't met, yet." Mark said, his deep baritone low and calm.

"You're the Undertaker."

"One of them." He agreed, surveying the scene. One dead body, Kane standing there, Faith against the wall eating a gun. His already dangerously peaked temper was threatening to soar through the roof and straight to the heavens. "Is she hurt?"

"Yes." Kane breathed, stepping aside slowly so the other man could get a better look.

Mark surveyed the damage, taking note of the blood staining her clothing and way her shoulder and arm seemed to just hang there limply. Frowning, he turned, staring down at Cachino. "She's injured."

"I had nothing to do with it-"

Shawn ducked in time because at that range, with the sawed off, there was exploding bits and fragments of what used to be Cachino's head everywhere. He was going to return to the Lucky 38, take a very long, very hot shower, and drink himself into oblivion in an attempt to forget the massacre he had just participated in. Granted, in his case, his shooting and killings had been self-defense, but he hadn't tried to stop Mark, which made him guilty by association.

Behind him, Lily snorted.

"Now you," Mark turned back to the walking corpse threatening his wife. "Get away from my wife."

"Your… _wife_?" Sal wiped his free palm, his sweaty palm, off on his already grimy slacks. "Look man, we didn't know, but she killed-"

"I killed." Kane corrected.

"Don't care." The 'you're next' was implied. Mark stepped towards Sal and Faith, hearing Shawn entering the room behind him.

"Sal, you're outnumbered." Shawn said softly. "Let her go."

"Now, I want safe passage out of here… I'll let her go when- BITCH!" Sal roared when Faith planted her knee right between his legs, her hand slapping the gun away from her mouth at the same time.

Kane pulled Faith out of the way while Mark went in for the kill. "She's hurt." He grunted, glancing over at Shawn. "Hook through her shoulder."

Trying to ignore the screaming from Sal, Shawn moved over to look at the area Kane was indicating, frowning. "How'd this happen?"

"Clanden, he murdered River's friend… he-" She shook her head, images of poor Maria flashing through her mind.

Shawn whistled, shaking his own head. "She's going to lose her mind." He stepped back when Mark turned his attention towards them, Sal dead on the floor.

The rage and bloodlust was fading as he took in his wife. He hadn't seen her in over a month, and she looked… scared, hurt, but also healthier then the last time they had been together. He didn't see the fear in her eyes when she looked at him and hesitantly, he took a step towards her.

"How bad is it?" She asked softly, tilting her head towards the door.

Mark took a deep breath. "Remember what I did to those inbreds in the swamp?"

She nodded. He had burnt their church and razed their land.

"Worse than that."

"Wait," Shawn interrupted, glad that Faith didn't seem terrified of her husband, if her moving to hug him was an indication, but still… that bit raised some alarms. "This was _worse_ than something else?"

"They don't call me the Undertaker for nothing, doc."


	41. Rodeo Time

**41: Rodeo Time**

Courier had gotten updates from Yes Man after she and Chris had defused the bomb. Explaining that one on the very slow, leisurely, happy to be alive walk back to McArran's main gate had been fun as hell. He hadn't been skeptical of her explanation, it made sense, but he hadn't been impressed with his superiors lack of knowledge about the traitor in their own midst. Yes Man had then interrupted the conversation to let her know about the situation at the Gomorrah, what was left of the Gomorrah.

"Brooks, what the hell is going on? You had someone clear out the casino?" He was confused as hell. "House authorized this?"

"Long story short Chris, sure. War is coming, probably within days, and you can tell the NCR to kiss my ass."

"I'm guessing this is your way of telling me you're on their black list?"

She stopped walking, turning to stare at him intently. She and Chris had never been friends, but they had been on… cordial terms. They respected each other. They had served as co-commands, led men into battle, seen friends and lovers die together… that forged bonds. He respected her enough to give her a head's up that she had been on the watch list, the potential threat list. "Yeah, I guess it is. They've given me an ultimatum."

"Which was?"

"Stop working for House and/or come back to the NCR."

"I'm guessing you told them where to go." It wasn't a guess and Chris felt the corner of his mouth tug up into a wry grin when she shot him an amused look. "Never going to change, are you Brooks?"

"You'd be surprised."

* * *

><p>"<strong>River,<strong> don't-" Shawn bit his fist when River walked right into the punch Mark threw her way. He sighed, having known it was coming, and reckoned he couldn't fault the man. She had sent his wife into a dangerous situation while the woman was already… recovering. Not exactly the best move on River's part.

Courier had been jacked in the jaw many times before and likely would suffer more in the future. But that had hurt, like a son of a bitch, and she didn't have to look in a mirror or get Shawn to tell her that her jaw was dislocated. She simply gave Mark a 'feel better' look before turning towards the medical bay that took up half of what had been her bar. She rifled around in a med kit, finally pulling out a stimpak and injected it into her jaw herself, cursing mentally at the pain as it healed.

"I ought to break it again." Mark growled, watching as she injected a second stimpak.

Courier nodded her agreement, waiting a few minutes before gingerly shifting her jaw. She winced at the pain. "Probably. I'd prefer you didn't though. Where's Faith?"

"Auto-Doc." Shawn said after a moment, gesturing towards the machine. "She could have done with some stimpaks and been fine but… Jeff seems to think she needed the Auto-Doc."

"She needed it because it's been repairing the damage the radiation caused." Jeff said from his place beside the Auto-Doc, busy taking notes.

"You're using her for experimentation." Mark said flatly.

"She agreed to it. This could reverse her sterility."

"What?"

"She could have children."

He had no idea how to feel about that and shared a look with Kane. The ghoul was shaking his head, obviously at a loss for words as well.

"My baby having babies?" Lily roared from somewhere on the other side of the room, obviously keeping an eye on her Faithy. "Grammie hasn't held a baby in ages!"

* * *

><p>"<strong>You<strong> need to bring the people of Freeside and any outside the gates into the Strip."

Of all the things Courier expected Faith to say, that was not it. It had been less than twenty-four hours since Faith had come out of that Auto-Doc and she had spent most of that time holed up with her husband. "I beg your pardon?"

"You got the Chairmen protecting the Strip with some of your Securitrons, which is great for the residents here. But there's the people out in Freeside and beyond who need your protection too." Faith had been conscious in that Auto-Doc and spent it all thinking. "If you're really doing all this for the people of the Mojave, then it's time to open those gates to them."

Courier nodded, smiling slightly. "All right. I'll send word to Julie Farkas and the King, unless you'd rather go yourself?"

"No, send word. Shawn already has folks cleaning up the Gomorrah, you might as well put all those people from outside in there."

"Sounds like you and Jeff have been talking."

Faith flashed her own small smile. "Perhaps. Mark and I will fight with you at the Dam. Kane has agreed to help. Lily will come whether I want her to or not."

"This isn't-"

"Our fight, we know. How long do you think you have before it's time?"

"A day at the most. Why?" Just the thought of going into what was promising to be a massive battle was making her tired, and her head hurt. Courier sank down into a plush chair, drawing her legs up under her. "Yes Man?"

"Commander?"

"Send Securitrons into Freeside and runners to the King and Julie Farkas. I want people sheltered in the Gomorrah."

"Yes, Commander."

They were in the kitchen area of the main suite, which is where everyone but Courier and Shawn seemed to live. John and Melina had their room. Jeff had his own space and now she and Mark had a room that Mark had obviously been sharing with Kane since she hadn't been here in awhile outside of brief visits. Faith walked over to the refrigerator and opened it, pulling out two bottles of cold, purified water. Smiling wistfully at the bottles in hand, she returned to where Courier was sitting and held out one.

Courier took it with a nod, watching as Faith dropped down in the seat beside her and shifted so she was facing the younger woman. "You have a look."

"I was just thinking… how easy it is, with the water, here."

She was politely confused and it showed.

"From my understanding, the Mojave took little damage in the war. House deflected most of the missiles, right?" When Courier nodded, Faith did too, opening her bottle to take a small sip. "That's left a lot of your land pretty much the way it was, including a lot of your bodies of water."

"We're a desert, we don't really have much in the way of bodies of water."

"You have the Colorado, Lake Mead, and other areas… that river alone is worth a fortune in other parts of the States."

"Oh… I hadn't thought about it that way." Courier frowned, realizing all things considered, the Mojave had probably done fairly well when compared to other areas that had been hit during the Great War. House had protected Vegas, and the desert by extension, which meant their ecosystem was still… thriving actually. But the NCR was still managing to screw up on the farming thing… she had a feeling the Followers would have some ideas on that subject. "Jeff and Shawn told me about you, and the Wasteland." So now, belatedly, she got why Faith was staring at the water like it was a miracle. It was.

"It's getting better, it's been three years and things are… looking up. Most of the Wasteland gets pure, fresh water regularly and the Brotherhood has been helping out the scientists from Rivet city with trying to grow fresh vegetables outside of a lab… things are improving, slowly." They would go much faster if they could eradicate the damn mutants. If Faith hadn't been suffering from rage and blind hatred of the Enclave, she might have used that orbital strike on vault 87, where the mutants seemed to come from. As it was… all they could do was try to keep the perimeter around it and shoot the muties on sight. Minus Fawkes, Fawkes was cool.

"What _does_ grow there?" Actually, Courier wanted to ask what they ate but that sounded rude as hell. Sure, they had some irradiated food, but not much. For all its downsides and hardships, Courier was very grateful to live in the Mojave. Granted, it took a special kind of person to thrive here. It was hotter than hell, the sand storms could rip you apart, and they had their fair share of mutations but the Mojave also provided for its people, providing they were willing to work for it.

They had pure water and fresh food. Barrel cactus fruit, banana yucca fruit, meat from geckos and coyotes, gourd seeds, hell they even had jalapenos and corn. That was just the food that still grew without help, or could be taken from the local wildlife, they had farmers here too, growing up carrots and potatoes, shit like that. Once she got the NCR out of the way, and a proper irrigation system set up, Courier figured the Mojave would really be getting back on its feet.

"So what is it stopping you guys from growing food?" She asked curiously, wondering if the place could really be that radiated and if so, why the hell anyone would want to live there.

"Radiation." Faith confirmed, smiling sheepishly when Courier then said exactly what was on her mind. "I honestly have no idea. Between the super mutants, death claws, ghouls, and radiation it's a damn hard place to live. But… people manage. We have greenery, down towards the Point, but that area is also swamp and infested with… swampbillies and cults."

"You need some damn radiation free dirt."

"Yeah, eventually it'll get that way, might take a few generations."

"I'll tell you what, once this shit is settled, I'll send a caravan back east with you. If you can do some kind of raised plots or something, you'll have plenty of dirt, and seeds. You already got the water."

"Holy shit, really?"

"Really."

* * *

><p>"<strong>The<strong> Legion is moving in on the dam!"

Courier turned away from the window she had been staring out, somehow not surprised. When she had woken up this morning, the sky had been unusually dark and calm. Everything had seemed… off. "Is the NCR responding?"

Melina nodded, clutching her side. She and John had gone out to monitor the situation at the Dam when the idiot president of the NCR had decided to make an appearance. John had been fresh from his return from Nellis, tired, but up for the trip. The president had been assassinated, no big surprise there, and all hell had broken loose. They had practically ran all the way back. "John's down in the med bay getting… spruced up."

"How tired is he, Melina?"

"I think adrenaline is going to wake him up. You know he's been waiting on this, wanting this, for a long time." Melina crossed the floor to Courier's personal bar, helping herself to the whiskey and threw back two shots. "How do you want to play this?"

Courier took the extended bottle and downed her own shot. It was here, the fate of the Mojave would be decided today and she felt something heavy settling on her. So much had been set in motion, and she knew ultimately, there were only two ways this could play out. The NCR won and annexed both New Vegas and the rest of the Mojave, or she walked out with everything. If that happened, major changes would occur, with the help of the Followers, and hopefully the Mojave would have secured its independence. Regardless, Caesar couldn't get his hands on _her_ desert.

Or her.

"Yes Man, alert the Chairmen and get the Securitrons underneath Caesar's ass primed to go." She grinned at the thought of them ripping through the earth and destroying his camp. She could almost see the expression on his face. "Has Freeside been evacuated?'

"Yes, Commander, of everyone but the NCR. The King is overseeing the situation at the Gomorrah. Julie Farkas has set up a hospital of sorts in the Ultra Luxe for the eventual wounded."

"Brilliant, great idea." Courier gestured for Melina to follow her. "I want Securitrons posted in Boulder city. You already know the sub-routine I have installed."

"Yes, Commander."

"Jeff is with the Enclave remnants?"

"Yes. You can expect aerial support within a few hours. The Boomers have sent a messenger, they are prepared to attack on our signal."

"And the Khans?"

"Awaiting you at Boulder."

"Thank you, Yes Man." She stepped into the elevator alongside Melina. "Well, Whiskey Rose, this is it."

"It is indeed." Melina laughed, her cheeks already tinting pink. There was no way she was doing this sober. Hell, she fought better when she was drunk anyway. "So, who is coming?"

"Shawn's going to the Ultra Luxe with Julie. He's okay for small fights but nothing like this. He's… he wouldn't do well."

"He'd die." Melina said flatly.

Yes, that, and Courier wasn't having it. She could feel her heart clenching just at the thought of it. "John is coming, he'd shoot me if I told him to stay back. You can make up your own mind. Mark, Faith, their ghoul, and that nightkin are coming."

"Uh, is that a good idea?"

"The mutant?"

"No, Faith."

"I guess we'll find out. From my understanding, this isn't her first rodeo."


	42. No Gods, No Masters

**42: No Gods, No Masters**

_No matter how many times that you me you wanted to leave  
>No matter how many breaths that you took, you still couldn't breathe<br>No matter how many nights that you lie wide awake to the sound of poison rain  
>Where did you go? Where did you go? Where did you go?<br>As the days go by, the night's on fire_

If the NCR attacked her now, of all times, Courier was going to travel to Shady Sands and fuck up the entire operation, starting from the top. Hell, she'd enlist Faith to help her out. Faith seemed to have a thing for annihilating army organizations.

She was coming in on the western side of the Dam, out of Boulder. Everyone had their orders, and she had let the dice fall where they would on their Wasteland friends. Shawn had remained behind in New Vegas, running operations from the Ultra Luxe where he would be helping Julie Farkas as needed. Courier had made him break out his old Pip-Boy and hooked him up with Yes Man. Mostly, if something happened to her, she needed someone to take the reins. Shawn would be reluctant, no doubt about it, but he was also the best choice. He was level-headed and knew what needed to be done. He was also fairly morally straight, she was pretty sure he had a goodie stick shoved up his delectable backside.

"Smiling, now? That's encouraging."

"Was thinking." Courier glanced over at Faith, somehow not surprised at the other woman falling into place beside her. What was surprising was that Faith had managed to hide out of sight until now. "What the hell are you wearing?" She could hear Lily off in the distance, not wanting to know what the nightkin was doing.

"Recon armor. Melina got it for me at the um, Crimson Caravan." Or what was left of it. Melina had gone through, apparently on a murder spree. Sort of. She had killed the higher-ups, the ones who had been working to kill her, or something. It seemed complicated and messy to Faith. What had been interesting, and weirdly touching, was the fact that the drunkard had remembered Faith's original armor when she had first come into Vegas and found a near identical set. This armor was mostly the same as the version Sarah Lyons had given her back in the Wasteland, only the hood was not optional, it had to be worn. So she had tucked her hair back and pulled the damn thing on.

"Huh. That was… nice of her." And out of character a bit, no time to dwell on it though. "Where's your husband and the ghoul?"

"Kane, his name his Kane. They're going high. Mark is great in hand to hand but he's also good with a sniper. They're going to keep an eye on us. What we don't catch, they will."

Courier wasn't sure how she felt about an Undertaker watching her six. "So, it's just us and Lily?"

"What happened to your other guys?" Faith sounded mildly concerned.

"Melina is with the Boomers, she'll be providing them with location support and dropping grenades and shit for us. Shit being operative, the Boomers are explosive nuts and the vault they came from was heavy on the armament, including the base they took over." Courier was very pleased with their upcoming aid, the Boomers were probably looking forward to having a grand old time shelling the NCR again. "Jeff is with the remnants, they'll be bringing in their own aerial assistance and whatever else they had stored. John… John will meet us there."

Faith halted, beginning to do a quick inventory of her gear. Weapons, meds and chems, and hopefully enough luck to get her through this. "I've got to stop getting my dumbass involved in wars."

Courier started laughing, checking over her own stuff. "That makes two of us."

_Tell me would you kill, to save a life?  
>Tell me would you kill, to prove you're right?<br>Crash, crash burn, let it all burn  
>This hurricane's chasing us all underground<em>

She would do this, put herself in this stupid situation. There was only one place she'd die, and only by his hands. "Goddamn you, River." 'Taker growled, watching through his scope as she and Faith made their way down the dam. He should let her die here, let this all end. His obsession with her, her burning hatred mixed with something that was once love for him.

His focused his scope on Faith. His lovely, broken sister-in-law. She didn't look so broken right now. In fact, she looked damn good. Not as fine as his River, but… in that gear, hugging her Vaultie body in what he was going to term a loving way. She had healed up nicely, and she was moving… she was alert, ready, and obviously knew how to use that combat shotgun she carried. He could see several other weapons, on both women, and ammo strapped along various points of their armor. 'Taker smirked slightly. Well, if he was going to be foolish, at least he was getting a good show.

A turret to their right exploded and he watched as both women tuck and rolled off to the left, the explosion taking the NCR soldiers who had been literally right there straight to hell. More NCR was moving, behind sandbags, and he realized why when he spotted the legionaries.

Well, even if he didn't kill River, or by extension, Faith, today… that didn't mean he couldn't kill to save their lives.

_No matter how many deaths I die, I will never forget  
>No matter how many lives that I live, I will never regret<br>There is a fire inside of this heart  
>And a riot about to explode into flames<br>Where is your God? Where is your God? Where is your God?_

All things considered, the NCR was being really accommodating on the not killing her front, Courier thought. It helped that the NCR Rangers were down there with them, led by Chris, and she idly wondered how many of them were from her original rangers. "Irvine, what the hell?" She roared over the sounds of fighting around them.

"Did you think I'd let you have all the fun by yourself?" He shouted back, his voice amplified by the interface in his helmet. "What can we do?"

"Yeah, Brooks, what can we do?"

"Hunter?"

The man nodded.

Well hot damn, there was an original Desert Ranger left in the NC-Fucking-R. Who'd of thunk it? "I need to get across the dam to the offices."

"We're on it." Chris gestured for his crew to move out.

Hunter lingered a moment. "Good seeing ya Brooks."

"You too, Hunt. Be safe."

He snorted and took off.

Faith glanced up from her place sitting on the cement, leaning back against a barricade. She was reloading every gun she had used, which was a lot. She had also been using her combat knife, those Legion guys made it easy with their skirts… all she had to do was get under one and go for the femoral artery. "You look like shit."

"You do too." Courier surveyed Faith, taking in the blood, sweat, and who knew what else. "How's Lily?"

"LEO SAYS WE CAN KILL THE BAD MEN!"

"She's thriving." Faith pushed herself up to her feet, smiling tiredly. "Shall we then?"

They both turned when something whizzed between them, watching the legionaries who had been sneaking up go down. Three of them actually… "How many snipers did we have?"

"Mark and Kane, I don't know about your side. Maybe NCR?"

Courier looked around, high, frowning slightly. "Maybe. Let's go."

She had survived the first battle of Hoover Dam, she had survived countless mini-wars against the Enclave and the Legion… now it was winner take all and Courier could feel her heart pounding an angry tattoo against her chest. She didn't want to rule the Mojave, she just wanted to give it a fighting chance. She had the resources, people with the know-how, and the drive to see it succeed on its own, become its own independent state. Providing they lived through this.

Either way, if she fell the consequences would spell disaster for her beloved Mojave and its people. The NCR would strip it of its resources, force out the citizens who didn't sign up to serve, and probably run the place into the ground. Caesar wouldn't destroy the Mojave itself but the people… it would be a massacre.

She had to win. There was no other option.

_Do you really want…  
>Do you really want me<br>Do you really want me dead  
>Or alive to torture for my sins?<em>

Do you really want…  
>Do you really want me<br>Do you really want me dead  
>Or alive to live a lie?<p>

"Yeehaw, bitches!"

Faith looked up at the wild shriek. She had heard the bomber coming and ducked when she realized just how low it was, spotting the wild hair of Melina flying crazily as the rambunctious woman tossed a hand grenade out of the open bay and down into a cluster of Legion soldiers. "She's insane!"

"Ain't it great?"

Courier was insane too and Faith threw herself behind a pillar, spotting an old Enclave helicopter whirring past her towards the barricades that led to the Hoover offices. Jeff was around here somewhere and she hoped he was all right, he had made it clear that he was not a fighter. Seeing the Enclave uniforms, even though there were only a literal handful roused up some pretty negative emotions in her… but she kept reminding herself that they weren't really Enclave. They were on the side of right this time… right?

"Stay down."

She heard Mark in her earpiece, nodding and waited for the kill to come. She wasn't surprised when she heard a surprised gurgle and peeked out to see some dick in a skirt dropping. "Thanks, love."

"Once you hit that building, we're coming down." Mark hadn't been okay with staying back but… with all those bodies on the dam, it would have been hard keeping up with the two fast, wiry women. They were able to slip in and out whereas he and Kane would have had to try bulldozing their way through. That approach did seem to be working for Lily, but she had a giant ass sword. He bet that helped.

"Good. We're going to need you when we hit Fortification Hill."

"Damn right you are."

Radio silence ensued as they went back to their respective tasks. Faith spotted Khans tearing through both NCR and Legion, killing indiscriminately, and higher than hell as they did so. They knew who they were working for so she supposed she should be grateful for small favors. What was weird as shit was seeing John Cena with them. He was pale and tight-lipped but he also looked… grimly happy. He was going straight for Legion, that was a man with a purpose.

_Tell me would you kill, to save a life?  
>Tell me would you kill, to prove you're right?<br>Crash, crash, burn, let it all burn  
>This hurricane's chasing us all underground<em>

"Faithy!"

Lily… she sounded angry and scared, and Faith turned towards the sound of her nightkin's roar. Right there was an NCR boy shooting at her purple Grammie and Faith seen red. She blew him a new hole with her combat shotgun and as she stepped over the soon to be corpse, she double tapped for good measure. "Lily?"

Lily was sideways lurching out of the line of fire, finally dropping down behind another barricade of sandbags. She slumped low, her wide brimmed sun hat falling off her bald, shiny head. "Grammie's girl is safe." She breathed when she spotted Faith squatting down before her, reaching out a large purple hand.

"Lily, let me see…" Faith gently tugged the other hand away from the nightkin's chest, noting the dropped Vertibird sword nearby. "Oh… oh no…"

She was riddled with bullets and while mutants had accelerated healing and tough as hell hides, there were other wounds contributing to this. Lily was going to die. Faith still reached for her chems, pulling out a shaky handful of stimpaks.

"No…" Lily shook her head. "No Faithy, let Grammie go…" She reached inside her shawl and tugged something out from under her overalls, holding it out.

Faith stared at it, it was a holotape. They were in the middle of a battle, the noise surrounding them was deafening, but it also seemed strangely calm and everything was moving so slow. She took the holotape and slid it into her Pip-Boy, her teary gaze returning to Lily.

"It's all right pumpkin, it's all right." Lily soothed. "Grammie is ready to go. I can see my grandbabies again."

"Lily…"

"But who'll take care of my Faithy?" Lily's eyes were crossing though she did smile slightly when she felt the tiny human nestling against her, feeling those thin, armored arms wrapping around her in a hug. "Grammie's beautiful girl…"

"Grammie, please…" Faith whispered, clenching her eyes shut. The relationship between and the nightkin was one she had never envisioned, never considered within the realm of possibility, but here it was. The schizophrenic nightkin had loved her unconditionally, with no reservation, and cared for her like they were really family… and Faith had responded to that love with love. "Please…"

"She's gone, darlin'." Mark's voice was in her ear, and he sounded genuinely heartbroken himself. "She's gone… and you have to move. C'mon, get up."

"No." She was sobbing and knew she had to go, but not yet. "No."

_The promises we made were not enough  
>The prayers that we prayed were like a drug<br>The secrets that we sold were never known  
>The love we had, the love we had, we had to let it go<em>

It was just her… everyone was on top of the Dam, and she knew John and the Khans were buying her time to get into the Hoover offices. Yes Man had her army ready to go but the final command had to be via the chip in one of her many sealed pockets. She had no idea what had happened to Faith but was hoping the kid was all right. She didn't need a hero's death on her conscience, not with everything else already piling up.

"River, duck!"

She didn't think twice about that voice, the deep baritone that made her new Divide tattoo tingle, she just ducked. She felt and heard the heard of a flamethrower whooshing over her head.

'Taker, Luke, was here and he took a running leap over her, right between the heavily armored NCR boys and began shooting. Only _he_ got to kill her. If he ever did. It was more likely she would off him first. Of all the women in the world… her, it had to be her. Hurt her, sure. Leave her near death, he could do that. Actually kill her… he, the most depraved soul to ever walk the Mojave, could not do that.

It was sickening.

Courier would have to focus on the why's later, right now… she took out the NCR dicks who wanted to barbecue her. She was guessing they had wizened up to the fact that she was not here to reenlist and was now on the kill list. "Luke!"

He whirled in time to shove his dagger right through the front plate of that head gear, and she tried not to think about the strength involved in that act. The soldier dropped and he stooped down to retrieve the dagger before turning to look at her. "Luke, huh?"

She nodded briskly, already moving away from him. She had a job to do. Courier frowned when she felt him grabbing her upper arm, pulling her back and tilted her head to stare up in his face. "I don't have time to fight you, I have-"

"Another lost cause to pursue."

"You know me and my lost causes."

He didn't flinch at that one, knowing the jab was aimed at him and simply nodded. "I'll see this through with you River. You will come to me in the Divide."

"You…" She studied his face, feeling something cracking in her. Something young and stupid, something recklessly in love, something sad. "You really can't kill me, can you?"

"No… but that doesn't mean I won't do something else." He said, just as softly. "You know me, I couldn't stop myself even if I wanted too." And he didn't want too, that went unsaid.

She should have killed him now, she was even raising her assault rifle to do it, and he just stood there, letting her aim the business end under his chin. "You're dangerous. You have no regard for life whatsoever. You won't stop either, you're right about that."

He didn't say a word.

"Goddamn you." Courier lowered her rifle, shaking her head. "After everything you've done, the people you've gone out of your way to destroy," Like Faith, for example. "After… all of it, I still can't…" Not yet, she had tried before. She had thought she killed him at the dam when she had pushed him over and into the Colorado river.

"You'll make me force your hand." He said wryly, knowing the only way she'd put him down was if he did something that threatened her work, or someone she genuinely loved. Like the good doctor, Shawn. "Can't ever do anything easy, can you Riv?"

"I guess not."

_Tell me would you kill, to save a life?  
>Tell me would you kill, to prove you're right?<br>Crash, crash, burn, let it all burn  
>This hurricane's chasing us all underground<em>

* * *

><p><strong>Hurricane<strong> by Thirty Seconds to Mars


End file.
